South Wales restaurant owner pleads guilty to ignoring fire safety warnings

A restaurant owner from Gwent in South Wales has pleaded guilty to a number of fire safety offences, including ignoring a prohibition notice from the local fire service.

The man in question, Abdul Kadir, is the former owner of the Raj Gate restaurant in Ponthir. He has now been forced to cease trading at the restaurant due to a number of fire safety offences.

After visiting the premises in 2008, investigators from the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service found a whole host of problems relating to fire safety at the premises. Mr Kadir was accused of endangering the lives of staff and visitors with his negligence.

The charges against Mr Kadir included failures to:

• Ensure fire exit routes were unobstructed and lit with emergency lighting
• Properly equip the restaurant with working fire alarm systems
• Keep firefighting equipment up to date (a fire extinguisher found on the premises was last tested in 2004)
• Comply with a prohibition notice from the fire service
• Allowing extension cables to run through kitchen areas

These faults and failures are generally covered as part of a fire risk assessment, or on fire training courses for the owners or managers of commercial properties.