A pub management company has been convicted of breaching fire safety law by North Wiltshire magistrates.
Sitting on 9 February, the magistrates fined Publicana Ltd £5000 for each of four offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In light of the company’s early guilty plea, however, the total fine was reduced to £15,000. Publicana was also ordered to pay the prosecution’s costs.
The offences came to light after Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service attended an incident at the Little George pub in New Road, Chippenham on 5 October 2008.
An investigation by officers from the Service’s technical fire safety department discovered that fire doors and fire exits had been screwed shut, or left propped open, escape routes were obstructed, and fire-protection systems had not been maintained. Consequently, Publicana Ltd – as the tenant at that time – was charged with failing to carry out or record a fire risk assessment, and failure to have effective protection policies and prevention measures in place.
