The latest fine for a fatal hotel fire of £500,000
Cameron House Resort located within Loch Lomond has been prosecuted after a fatal fire at their premises fatally injured 2 of their guests.
It was found that on the 18th of December 2017, staff were alerted to smoke coming from a concierge cupboard and went to investigate. What the staff found was flames taking hold of the cleaning cupboard very quickly and beginning to rapidly spread smoke and heat through the hotel.
CCTV footage captured the incident unfold where confusion and panic could be seen in the attempts to tackle the fire with extinguishers failed all the while setting measures in motion to evacuate the building.
After the fire had been put out, the damage to the premises was significant with some areas of structural collapse.
A subsequent investigation found that the hotels night porter had discarded hot ashes from the hotels fireplace into a plastic bag
Inadequate procedures
The investigation found that 2 previous fire risk assessments carried out at the hotel had highlighted that there was no written procedure or policy for the correct disposal of hot ashes from the open fires, and that this remained the case on the night of the fire occurring.
The hotel was subsequently found guilty of failing to take the necessary fire safety measures required for the safety of employees and guests.
Other failings were found in that the hotel, although had instructed the porter not to handle hot ashes in the manner he did, had not provided any form of training or supervision to the employee on safe disposal.
As a result, the hotel was fined £500,000 and the porter was also prosecuted with an order to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.
What to take away
It is absolutely vital that the correct instruction and training in fire safety is given to your members of staff including management. Ensure that your fire safety training is up to date!
Acting on issues raised within the fire risk assessments should be a priority within businesses. A fire risk assessment is not a tick box exercise and should not be treated as such.
Should you wish for any assistance with achieving the above, contact Eyton Solutions today to discuss your business fire safety needs