Fire leaves family of 8 homeless
Firefighters have warned people to ensure they are safe in their homes after a fire left a family of 8 homeless.
Firefighters attended a fire at a three storey terraced house in West Street, Harwich, at around 5.30pm on Tuesday 5th June. The fire is thought to have started in a second floor bedroom.
It is the second fire to break out in six months on the street, and the third in the area since December.
Martin Avent, community safety officer said: “Fires like this show how even the smallest fire in the home can cause devastation. In this case eight people were unable to return to their home as a result of the fire. Every home should have at least one working smoking alarm on every floor, they are the most important early warning system a house can have alerting all occupants that something is wrong the minute a fire breaks out, giving everyone time to escape before calling us in to deal with the incident.”
Asda store fined over £55,000 for breaching fire safety regulations
Asda Stores Limited has been fined over £55,000 after being found guilty of fire safety breaches at a store in Berkshire.
The Company appeared at Reading Crown Court on 6th June, pleading guilty to two charges under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Royal Berkshire Fire Authority (RBFA) discovered the breaches following an inspection of the Asda store in Cippenham, near Slough on 24th June 2010. The breaches presented a serious risk to staff and customers.
William Clegg QC, told the court that the inspection showed several breaches including fire exits chained and locked shut, blocked fire escapes, fire exit doors wedged open and combustible items blocking escape routes. The company had previously been served with a caution for contravening fire safety regulations. Judge Grainger fined the company £20,000 for each offence, with full costs totaling £15,647.
David Walden, the Authority’s fire-safety legal support manager, said: “This was a clear case of a major retailing company failing to comply with fire-safety regulations and, by doing so, placing people at serious risk. It also provides further evidence that some businesses continue to treat compliance with fire-safety legislation as an option – it is not. Staff and customers are entitled to feel safe when working at, or visiting, a supermarket, or any other business. We will continue with our efforts to ensure that any business owner, or manager who refuses to take these obligations seriously will be brought before the courts.”
Hotel boss pleads guilty to fire safety breaches
A hotel boss in Salford has admitted breaching fire safety regulations, putting the lives of guests in danger.
Sultan Chaudhry who runs The White Lodge Hotel, was found guilty of ten offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 when he appeared at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 4th April.
The breaches were discovered by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s fire safety officers when they visited the hotel after a fire broke out on April 13, 2011.
The fire broke out in the lobby of the hotel at around 4am. Firefighters were told by the manager that all 13 residents had evacuated the building. It was later discovered that actually, one guest still remained inside.
When fire safety officers attended later that day they issued Prohibition Notice preventing anyone staying in the hotel due to the complete lack of fire safety precautions.
Officers found that the fire alarms were faulty and had not been set up correctly, fire extinguishers were empty, escape routes were inadequate and there was inadequate emergency lighting.
A suitable fire risk assessment had not been carried out and staff at the hotel had not been trained in fire safety procedures.
Peter O’Reilly from GMFRS’ said: “Mr Chaudhry was running a hotel business and guests at the hotel are entitled to be safe. Fortunately, when the fire occurred nobody was injured, thanks to the professionalism of our crews who attended. “This could have been a very serious incident. It is unacceptable for a hotel business not to have proper procedures in place and put lives at risk. Members of the public using this hotel were placed in danger by Mr Chaudhry’s failings. Anyone running a business has a responsibility to comply with the law.”
Mansfield store fined over £32,000 for breaching fire safety regulations
A bargain store in Mansfield has had to pay a fine of over £32,000 after being found guilty of breaching fire safety regulations.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service inspected the newly opened B&M store in Stockwell Gate in June 2012 and discovered the breaches.
Representatives from the store appeared in Mansfield Magistrates Court and admitted breaching six fire safety offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The company had failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and had obstructed fire exits leading out of the building. One exit route led to a locked enclosed area employees had not received adequate safety training.
In mitigation, barrister Austin Welch who represented the company said that B&M took health and safety and fire regulations very seriously. He said: “This is not a case where a company has operated for a great deal of time, the staff had been working there for three weeks and it had been open for a week, this is an extremely short period of time.”
Ian Taylor from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We are here to provide advice and support to local businesses and are always willing to help to make sure they comply with the fire safety legislation. However, the public should continue to be reassured that we take any breaches of fire safety very seriously and will use legal sanctions where necessary. In this case, my officers had previously spent some time ensuring that B&M Retail Ltd was aware of its responsibilities and duties to ensure people’s safety, and it is disappointing that they chose to continue to place people at risk from fire.”
Arson suspected at Gwent college
A fire that broke out in a college in Wales is thought to have been started deliberately.
Firefighters attended the incident at the Pontypool campus of Coleg Gwent at around 1.30am on 5th June after a fire broke out in a ground floor office.
Crews from New Inn, Cwmbran and Pontypool spent over an hour bringing the flames under control.
Inspector Ian Thomas, from the Gwent Police force control room confirmed that the blaze is thought to have been started deliberately and there are indications that some kind of accelerant was used to start the fire.
There were no injuries reported in the incident. A full investigation into the cause of the fire is now under way.