Tyneside restaurant owner fined over £6000 for fire safety breaches

Amed Ali, owner of the Light of India restaurant in Wallsend, Tyneside has pleaded guilty to 12 offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 when he appeared at North Tyneside magistrates court in May.

Mr Ali was fined £250 for each offence and ordered to pay £3,500 in costs.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service launched legal proceedings against Mr Ali after officers inspected the restaurant in May 2011 and found that he had permitted people to sleep above the restaurant when it was unsafe to do so as there had been no fire risk assessment carried out and there were insufficient escape routes.

Darren Boddy from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, said: “It is the responsibility of all business owners to ensure the safety of anyone on their premises. A fire risk assessment must be undertaken to identify the risks to the people within the premises and the accommodation must have an appropriate standard of fire safety measures, systems and adequate escape routes. By failing to ensure these fire safety provisions are in place, some business owners are putting people’s lives at risk. We always strive to work with businesses to ensure the safety of their staff and members of the public, but where necessary we will not hesitate to take legal action against those who do not and continue to flout the law.”