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 4^th 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.”