Huge fines for fire safety breach businesses
High fines for company’s that breach fire safety regulations are set to continue.
Rather than fines being purely based on the seriousness of the breaches, they will also be closely linked to the company’s turnover. High street fashion retailer New Look discovered this first hand when it was ordered to pay out £400,000 earlier this year after a fire broke out at the Oxford Circus branch.
Safety breach restaurant owner faces prison
The owner of a Chinese takeaway faces jail after breaching a series of fire safety regulations at his restaurant in Llandybie.
Fire officers found that fire doors had been held open with fire extinguishers and escape routes were not adequate. Mr Bhuiya was also using the first floor of the property as sleeping accommodation which was not permitted.
Mr Bhuiya will be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on November 17 and has been told to expect a fine or even a prison sentence.
Indian restaurant owners guilty of breaching fire safety regulations
Two owners of an Indian restaurant in Mutley, a suburb of Plymouth, have been fined for a breach of fire regulations following a recent fire which was spotted by a passer-by last November.
The smoke alarms and detectors put in place at Mutley Spice were found to be inadequate while fire exits had been blocked.
Nobody was injured in the blaze but part of the building was severely damaged.
Faizul Hoque and Taklus Hussain were each fined £4,000 in addition to prosecution costs as they attended court to face the charges.
Presiding magistrate Diana Greene said:
“We were horrified at the extent of your non-compliance. If a random passer-by had not seen the smoke the outcome could have been extremely different. It hardly bears thinking about.”
Although the owners of the restaurant had not purposely left the building without adequate fire safety in place, this situation just goes to show what can happen if you do not take this seriously.
The risk of fire is greater in these types of establishments with a kitchen, so if you are a restaurant owner then it is necessary to consider your own fire safety procedures and ensure that you have smoke detectors in place for the safety of your staff as well as your customers.
A ‘Fire Safety in Kitchens and Restaurants’ course can cover all of these things and more, helping you to protect your business.
Cheshire hotel in breach of fire safety codes
The fire service has sent out a warning to hoteliers that fire safety procedures and the equipment installed on their premises needs to be checked regularly following a number of serious breaches at the Belfry Hotel in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
The hotel was fined £75,000 for three counts of serious breaches of the regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order last Monday after a routine visit by firefighters drew their attention to the issues surrounding fire safety.
The manager for Community Fire Protection at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, Lee Shears, said:
“Fire safety is a key part of good business management and the Hallmark Hotel Group showed little or no regard for the safety of their guests or employees and the result was a prosecution.”
This incident has served as a serious wake-up call to businesses that do not have working fire alarms in place as well as suitable fire exits for the safety of their guests during an evacuation of the premises. Hotel staff had also not been properly trained in fire safety.
Judge Elgin Edwards told the court:
“For people who run hotels, fire security is particularly important.
“This company carried on trading and taking guests when quite clearly these guests were put at substantial risk.”
The hotel has now reopened following the recommended changes to its fire safety procedures and equipment.
‘Quality rental property’ landlord guilty of safety breaches
A housing company claiming it “provides quality rental properties that are fully maintained at all times” has been fined nearly £40,000 after inspectors found that the flats breached several health and safety regulations.
Councillor Rizwan Malik who is the Director of Premier Housing was forced to resign from his position and is now also under investigation by the Labour party leaders.
The flats that are predominantly occupied by Eastern Europe immigrants were found to have faulty fire alarms and the general safety of the building was severely lacking putting all tenants at risk.
Councillor Louise Baldock said “I believe we should take every form of action against any landlord who breaks the law, irrespective of who they are or what party they are from”