Restaurateurs fined for fire safety violations
The owners of a restaurant in the south-west of England have been fined thousands of pounds for breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service brought legal proceedings against the people responsible for the Indian restaurant known as Mutley Spice, who were each fined £4,000 and ordered to pay court costs of £2,300.
Violations at the establishment included the absence of adequate fire alarms, staff had not been given proper fire safety training and the fire escape stairwells for the flats above the restaurant were blocked.
No fire risk assessment had been carried out despite this being a legal requirement for all commercial premises.
The breaches came to light when a passer-by saw smoke coming out of the building following an incident in 2009 and immediately alerted fire and rescue services as no fire alarm was sounding.
A Berkshire pub landlord was also recently slammed by local magistrates for putting the lives of his customers at risk by failing to carry out proper fire risk assessments on his premises.
