Page 121 - Xmo Strata - Bulletin Archive

Page 1 of 4

Health, Safety & Environmental Bulletin No 052

S Martin– 16 August 2007

Safety Whilst on Holiday

Please see below report of an incident that occurred to a family that was on holiday in
Portugal. As the holiday season is now here, please be aware that not all countries are as
safety conscious as the UK, and not all emergency services are as capable. Our thanks
go to David Thorman and AMEC for sharing this experience.

My Traumatic Holiday Experience By Dave Thorman

Before I go into detail of my horrific holiday experience last year may I start by
introducing myself and family. I am a Project Manager for AMEC and currently
managing the Longannet Power Station FGD project in Scotland.

My wife Catherine is a Staff Nurse. My younger children are
Jack and Matthew, who were then 10 year old twin boys and
Emily our daughter aged nine.

We had all been looking forward to our summer family
holiday in Vilamoura, Portugal, staying in holiday
apartments, overlooking a scenic golf course.

We had only just arrived at the apartments and were sat around
the swimming pool, when suddenly I heard the horrendous sound
of smashing glass, followed by screams. Instinctively, I looked
over to see if my children were OK. They were fine.

I ran over as fast as I could towards the sound of screaming
people, closely followed by my wife, to find that a fifteen year old
boy had ran through a window at the bottom of some stairs where
he had been playing with some younger children.