January 2012 - Fire Safety Ignored At Factory Premises - Former Mayor May Go To Prison
A Nottingham business owner had been visited by the Fire Brigade. Fire safety had been found to be poor. This was surprising, given that he was an ex-Lord Mayor of Nottingham.
Specifically, there was no fire risk assessment in place. Fire officers argued that employees would have struggled to get to the fire exits; routes were blocked with combustible materials; emergency lighting had not been provided; fire extinguishers were not easily accessible.
All of this, of course, is really basic fire safety, a routine part of management for all our clients. Businesses who cannot deal with all of these issues would ordinarily bring in a specialist such as ourselves.
In this case, the Fire Brigade tried to help. They explained what was needed and issued all of this in an enforcement notice. Unfortunately, the client ignored them and so they took him to court.
The Judge said he had a mind to send him to prison for nine months. After mitigation, this was reduced to six months suspended for two years. In addition, the business owner must do 180 hours of unpaid work.
Key issues:
- Never ignore a statutory notice from any enforcement agency - fire, health and safety, environmental, whatever.
- Make sure you have a fire risk assessment and that it is updated at regular intervals.
If in doubt ask us, we can help.
For more information or if you have any questions surrounding the information in this article please contact Crown House on 01777 861 861 or e-mail Jacky Millard
Motor Trade