Fire Safety In Commercial Properties

Last week, London hotel owner, Salim Patel was hit with a record breaking £200,000 fine after a routine fire inspection found numerous fire safety violations in his six-floor, 18-room hotel, on Inverness Terrace. The case has been ongoing since the inspection of The Radner hotel took place back in 2011. The London Fire Brigade carried out the assessment and said that guest’s lives were actually at risk due to the severity of some of the breaches to fire safety that were discovered in the hotel. Fire safety officers were appalled to find inadequate fire detection systems, blocked emergency exits and insufficient emergency lighting as they toured the premises. In addition to this, there was what can only be described as many makeshift fire safety solutions put in place throughout the property. These included fire doors that were tied open with extension cords or string and some that were missing entirely, as well as evidence that the basement storeroom had been turned in to a bedroom! Mr Patel was given an enforcement notice that requested he addressed all of the safety concerns observed in the inspection in order to make his hotel safer for guests and staff. However, despite formal warnings, follow up visits by The London Fire Brigade found that no action had been taken to rectify the fire safety violations at The Radner. Even the most basic fire care regulations were ignored and the hotel continued to operate without a working fire detection system. Mr.Patel was successfully prosecuted last week and no longer owns the hotel. Alongside the largest fine ever given to an individual in London for violating fire safety rules, Salim was also ordered to pay £30,000 in court costs and was handed a four month suspended prison sentence. The judge stated that as the business owner, ‘absolute attention’ was needed with regards to fire safety and Mr.Patel did not provide this protection. In commercial business, there is no excuse not to have functioning fire safety solutions in place. With the risk of hefty fines and even prison sentences for breaching regulations, it is absolutely essential! At Meritas we offer high quality and easy to use fire alarms that are installed and regularly maintained by our qualified engineers to ensure the safety of your commercial property. Contact us today to discuss your businesses fire safety needs. All of our prices are completely transparent, with testing and commissioning costs included in our overall estimates so give us a call today.