Celebrity hairdresser fined £40,000 for fire safety breaches

A celebrity hairdresser whose clients list includes the Duchess of Cambridge, Tara Palmer Tompkinson and Pixi Geldof has been fined £40,000 after one of his stylists suffered third degree burns in a fire at his London salon in Conduit Street.

Stylist Gail Purcell received serious burns when her skirt was set alight by a decorative candle at the Daniel Hersheson salon in London.

It is believed that Ms Purcell was forced to run to various parts of the building trying to find water to put the fire out.

No fire alarm was activated during the incident and other staff members seemed to be unaware of how to deal with the fire. No first aid was given to Ms Purcell before paramedics arrived on the scene.

Ms Purcell was taken to Chelsea and Westminster hospital suffering from third degree burns.

London Fire Brigade carried out an inspection at the property where a number of serious safety concerns emerged.

They discovered that fire doors were propped open, corridors were blocked, fire alarms were not working properly and the fire risk assessment was insufficient.

Rudan Ltd, trading as Daniel Hersheson, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the company was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court and ordered to pay a fine of £10,000 for each of the two offences and £20,000 costs.

London Fire Brigades’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety Regulation Lee Phillpotts said: ‘Business owners have a clear responsibility under fire safety law to ensure that both the public and their employees are safe from the risk of fire. This verdict sends a clear message that if these responsibilities are ignored we will not hesitate in prosecuting and serious penalties are likely to be imposed. People should always be extremely careful when using candles. You should never leave them unattended and keep them well away from any flammable materials.’