Crowborough pub closed for second time due to fire risk
The Crowborough Cross pub in Crowborough has been closed for the second time in just 3 months after it was condemned by fire chiefs.
Crowborough fire station commander said: “Following a joint inspection with Sussex Police and Wealden District Council licensing, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service identified several fire safety contraventions at the premises and issued a formal notice restricting the use of the premises. Further enforcement action was to follow, but the owners of the pub have made the decision to close.”
It is not known whether the pub owners will sell the business or refurbish the property in order to meet the required safety requirements.
Emma Welch, who runs the pub said she is keen to transform the pub. Ms Welch said: “I’m awaiting movement from Punch Taverns over what they intend to do with the pub. I’m currently the tenant but Punch will decide before Christmas whether they will keep the site and invest heavily in it, or whether they will sell it on the open market. I would rather buy the freehold, although if this is made available there is likely to be competition from big companies like Wetherspoons to get the site. I really believe in this site. The Cross is the beacon of Crowborough.”
A spokesperson for the Punch Taverns said: “We are working with all parties involved to address any highlighted issues. It is our priority to keep our pubs open and trading and we will look to reopen as soon as possible.”
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that you:
‘must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed’
This means that all companies as a first point in their Fire Safety must complete a Fire Risk Assessment. This must be carried out by a competent person, who is trained to perform risk assessments. Your Fire Training needs, your fire extinguisher needs and any other fire safety related issues you will need to address will be highlighted from the Fire Risk Assessment.
Our team of experienced and qualified Fire Risk Assessors will perform a full Fire Risk Assessment of your premises, and provide you with a comprehensive document detailing the risks found and recommendations to minimise the risks.
Our Fire Risk Assessment is divided into nine separate areas:
- Fire safety administration
- Fire fighting facilities
- Identifying fire hazards
- Fire routine and test procedure
- Means of escape
- Review procedures
- Staff/people at risk
- Arson prevention check list
- Fire warning facilities
When you have a Fire Risk Assessment, you must review this to ensure that everything is still in order. For example, you have a reshuffle of departments and your trained Fire Wardens are all moved onto the same floor of the building so more are required to cover the other floors, or you may have an extension built on your building. You may not even have had any changes in personnel or building, but it is essential that you review the Fire Risk Assessment anyway! We provide a service to review your Fire Risk Assessments for you, whether completed by ourselves or not.
Firefighters forced to retreat in Leeds farm fire
Fire crews had to pull back as they attempted to tackle a barn blaze in Temple Newsam, East Leeds last Sunday due to the risks posed by asbestos.
The situation arose after the roof of the barn, located in the grounds of a historic property, collapsed, which caused asbestos to fall into the flames.
A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Fire Service said:
“The majority of the roof was not asbestos but there was asbestos cement which contaminated the straw.
“In addition the site is structurally unsafe. So the firefighters could not go in to put the fire out because of the asbestos and because the building is unsafe.”
The fire began on the Sunday but was still being controlled by firefighters on Thursday.
At the height of the blaze, fire crews from nine West Yorkshire fire stations were involved in tackling this fire.
A Leeds City Council spokesman said:
“The fire is under control but is still active and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service remain at the scene.
“Part of the roof structure of the barn did contain some asbestos which has been assessed and is of low-risk grade, and all parties involved are proceeding with the necessary caution to reduce the impact of the damage in order for the clean-up operation to begin as soon possible.
“The farm remains closed to the public.”
The importance of fire safety procedures in hotels
As we have reported on a number of occasions in the past, hotels are particularly susceptible to fires and due to the ever changing volume of people coming and going to and from the premises it can be a difficult task accounting for everyone at the time of an unforeseen incident like a fire.
This is why a ‘Fire Safety in Hotels’ has proved to be a popular training course for those in the hospitality industry as many fires can be avoided and this can save the business thousands of pounds in damages sustained by the building in the case of a fire.
Fire poses a unique challenge to hotel owners and the fact that many of the people present on the premises are not employees it is necessary to ensure that everybody staying at the hotel is made fully aware of the fire safety procedures you have put in place.
The course will train your staff as fire wardens and help them to understand the risks associated with working in a hotel. Through this training, you can rest assured that they will be able to carry out your instructions regarding fire safety and employ the appropriate procedures. So, if there was a fire, all guests can be accounted for, rooms can be checked as a matter of course and the evacuation can be carried out in a safe manner.
Shortage of fire risk assessors in UK
A lack of competent fire risk assessors is causing great concern amongst UK landlords says the Peabody Housing Association.
Landlords are finding it very difficult to find assessors that they can trust to carry out vital safety assessments on their properties.
The claim was made by Robert Groom, Peabody’s fire safety and emergency planning manager, at an event last month in association with the London Fire Brigade. The events main aim was to see how effectively the Regulatory Reform Order of 2005 is being enforced.
£50,000 fine for ‘Death Trap’ store
Poundstretcher Ltd has pleaded guilty to serious fire safety breaches at its Huddersfield store.
A fire safety inspector found that the store was putting its staff and customers at serious risk of injury or death due to a catalogue of safety failings at the store.
Inspectors discovered that only one fire exit was in use, but was not working properly and could actually have trapped them inside the building rather than helping them escape. Other exits that were not in use were blocked by large amounts of combustible material.
Before the failings were discovered, a risk assessment had been carried out and recommendations had been made but were not actioned at the store.
The Company has been fined £50,000 for the breaches. In the past 18 months it has also had to pay out over £20,000 for failings at other stores in Wakefield and Halifax.
The Company accepted responsibility and immediately set about rectifying all of the issues. Poundstretcher company secretary, Martin Collinson said, “We note the comments of the judge and we have to take what he said very seriously”.