Relative of hotel fire victim calls for fire risk assessment changes
02 Apr 2012
A man whose relatives were killed in a hotel blaze has called for changes in the way in which fire risk assessments are carried out.
John Hughes lost his mother, Monica, and brother, Peter, in the fire at Newquay's Penhallow Hotel in 2007.
It was found that the hotel had no sprinkler system fitted and Mr Hughes has raised concerns that hotels are allowed to conduct their own fire risk assessments.
Speaking at a seminar held at the Eden Project in Cornwall, Mr Hughes said: "You need hoteliers to be able to go to a body to ask: 'Where is an accredited person to do a fire risk assessment?'," quotes BBC News.
"Hoteliers can currently do fire risks themselves, and I think that's where it falls down."
Mr Hughes also called for accreditation bodies such as the AA to ensure that fire risk assessments are in place before they award stars.
A third person, Joan Harper, also died in the blaze, which occurred on August 18th.
A 'suitable and sufficient' fire risk assessment must be conducted on all commercial properties in England and Wales, under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
In Scotland The Duty Holder is responsible for the adequacy of the Fire Risk Assessment under The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005
If the fire risk assessment is deemed to be carried out to an insufficient extent, the Responsible Person (Duty Holder) can face an unlimited fine or a prison sentence of up to two years.
From FIA
No comments:
Post a Comment