Hotel 'put profit before safety'
Source Juliet Eysenck on Sep 24, Westminster Chronicle
A Paddington hotel accused of putting profit before safety has been fined for breaching fire regulations.
Two members of the public raised concerns after staying overnight at the Ventures Hotel in Sussex Gardens.
Fire officers then inspected the property and found a number of fire safety failings including blocked emergency exits, wedged open fire doors and no suitable or sufficient fire risk assessment.
They issued an enforcement notice detailing the issues and set a time frame for them to be remedied by.
Malik Mohammed Bashir, manager of Ventures Hotel in Sussex Gardens, and Awan Investments Ltd, which owns the hotel, denied 10 fire safety offences but were found guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court on September 14.
District judge Michael Snow said the defendants were not concerned with the safety of staff and guests, and that the fire safety lapses showed the organisation prioritised profit over safety.
Speaking after the hearing, Mr Bashir said: "This was an isolated incident and it happened so long ago.
"All the issues are resolved now.
"We had some redecoration work going on at the time, and if people are delivering materials, it's very difficult to stop them parking in front of the hotel and blocking emergency exits.
"One part of the hotel was closed at the time."
Awan Investments Ltd was ordered to pay £27,015 in fines and costs, while Mr Bashir was fined a further £5,015 for his role in the safety breaches on March 2, 2009.
Steve Turek, London Fire Brigade's assistant commissioner for fire safety regulation, said: "The general public should feel safe from fire when they are staying at a hotel and the responsible person must make sure their premises comply with the regulations.
"All premises owners and operators must undertake a fire safety risk assessment."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment