9th August 2023

Restaurant Company Fined £20,000 For Fire Safety Breaches

What’s Happened

A restaurant business has recently been found guilty of various fire safety breaches and failing to comply with a fire safety enforcement notice served by the Hereford and Worcester Fire & Rescue Service (HWFRS) requiring them to make fire safety improvements.

As a result, the company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £2,000 plus costs of £5,000.

Fire Safety Inspection

Inspections at the premises conducted by fire safety officers from HWFRS revealed a host of inadequate fire safety management arrangements at the premises:-

• There was no fire risk assessment in place.
• There was no correctly operating fire alarm system in place.
• Escape routes were not sufficiently fire-resisting.
• There was inadequate firefighting equipment on site.
• There was inadequate testing and maintenance of emergency lighting, fire alarm systems, fire-resisting doors and fire extinguishers.
• There had been no testing and maintenance of the fixed electrical systems.

Commenting on the breaches found at the restaurant, George Marshall, Assistant Director
for Protection at HWFRS, said:

“As an enforcing body for Fire Safety, the Fire Authority will work with businesses to improve their fire safety compliance.

“However, as in this case, where a business fails to address serious fire safety breaches which could lead to loss of life or serious injury to employees or members of the public, the Fire Authority will ensure that these businesses are held accountable.”

Fire Risk Assessment

Ensuring your premises have a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and proactively addressing areas to improve compliance will ensure legal compliance and reduce life safety fire risks.

Additionally, there are forthcoming changes in fire safety legislation due in October 2023 which require businesses to record their completed fire risk assessment in full regardless of the number of staff they employ.

If you have any queries regarding fire risk assessments or require general advice, then don’t hesitate to call our advice line on 0300 303 5228 or email us at info@lighthouseriskservices.co.uk