A contractor involved in the construction of the new hospital wing has raised concerns about the standard of firestopping carried out on the project.

Rammy Smith claims underqualified workers were used on certain parts of the new building to meet the deadline for its opening.

Mr Smith’s firm, Bermuda Coatings Company (BCC), was hired by BCM McAlpine to supply and install the firestopping for the new Acute Care Unit at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

He has written to the Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) and BCM McAlpine outlining his concerns about the standard of work done, but both have refuted his claims.

The hospital says it has been reassured by Paget Health Services that all the work undertaken on the building has been to appropriate standards, while BCM McAlpine said it was confident that all work on the new wing had been completed properly.

Mr Smith told The Royal Gazette: “We will not and cannot sign off or certify this project unless and until those areas in question are all identified and rectified and brought up to code as detailed in Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) designs.

“I would like the record to show that neither BCC or our suppliers, Specified Technologies Incorporated, will be or can be held responsible in the event of a fire.

“UL designs are independently tested and strictly monitored and this is for a reason. The general contractor must be held accountable, especially in light of being a public-private partnership and a public building, designed and built to save lives.

“I do not make these accusations without base or lightly. This is a matter of public safety and the public should be concerned.”

Mr Smith is urging the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service to conduct a further inspection of the property.

“I am in no way calling into question the professionalism and intent of the Bermuda Fire Service, who have done and always have done a good job,” he added.

“We have a great relationship, which is still intact. I find it odd that no one from my team was asked to be present during final inspection.”

Mr Smith provided photos to this newspaper which he claims show substandard work that was not completed by his firm.

He says that his firm’s BCC tag is present on materials because his company was responsible for sourcing the materials, but not the work that has been completed.

But Michael Ewles, chief executive officer and vice president of BCM McAlpine told The Royal Gazette that all firestopping work had been completed to the required standards.

“There have been several claims made by Mr Smith which we believe to be unfounded and these are the subject of ongoing legal proceedings,” he said.

“BCM McAlpine is confident that the works carried out at the KEMH redevelopment were completed to the required standards and all work has been inspected and passed for occupancy by the relevant Bermuda statutory bodies.

“While there is little we can add due to the ongoing legal process, we do note that the firestopping at the KEMH redevelopment is one of the first projects in Bermuda to individually tag every penetration within the facility.

“This new process was instituted by BCM McAlpine to assist with the quality and compliance of the firestopping.

“Every penetration on both fire-rated walls and non-fire-rated walls were tagged in the same manner, as we utilised the same materials and details for acoustic penetrations in the non-fire-rated walls.

“It is important to remember that not all walls within the new Acute Care Wing are fire-rated walls and are not subject to UL design requirements.

“Of the photos referenced by Mr Smith, two clearly show tags that demonstrate that the work was carried out by Bermuda Coatings — Mr Smith’s company.

“Any penetrations completed by our own forces were tagged as ‘BCM’, as per the attached photograph.

“Further, neither of the two photos whose tags can be identified are in walls which require a fire rating under the National Fire Protection Association of Bermuda Building Codes.

“There is no tag visible on the third photo, so we are unable to determine its location.”

A Bermuda Hospitals Board spokesperson said: “Paget Health Services (PHS) is responsible for ensuring there is appropriate fire-stopping in the new Acute Care Wing that meets Bermuda codes.

“BHB received the letter from Bermuda Coatings Company Limited recently and forwarded it to the General Manager of PHS.

“We have been reassured that all work undertaken has been to appropriate standards, and has been checked and certified as required by Bermuda law.”

• On occasion The Royal Gazette may decide to not allow comments on what we consider to be a controversial or contentious story. As we are legally liable for any slanderous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.