A Hotel owner in Bolton has been prosecuted, has been fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 costs after pleading guilty to five breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The fire authorities brought the prosecution of the owner of the Pack Horse hotel, Subhash Jajoo. This followed a complaint from the public about a blocked fire exit at the hotel in December 2008.
Greater Manchester Fire Authorities followed this up with an inspection and this revealed a number of failings. These included defective fire doors, the fire alarm was defective, fire detection/manual call point was not working, obstructions to the escape routes, defective emergency lighting units and fire extinguishers not being maintained properly.
It is important to have a fully operational fire alarm system, with a fire alarm maintenance in place. The fire alarm weekly testing is also an important procedure to ensure the fire alarm will work first time in the event of a fire emergency.
Cllr Paul Shannon, vice chairman of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority said: “We welcome the clear message from the courts that legal action will be taken against those owners or businesses that neglect fire safety and thereby risk the public’s safety.
The Fire Authority is focussed on helping businesses operate safely and stay within the legal framework, but we will take legal action if they do not.
Speaking after the case, Dr Jajoo told the Bolton News: “I am not happy with the prosecution costs and I don’t think this should have come to court. The points raised were rectified in a matter of days and I did my best.”
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