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.”