Hotel fire regulations breached

A hotel boss has pleaded guilty to fire safety offences following a blaze in which firefighters had to rescue a guest.

Sultan Chaudhry was convicted of ten offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at Manchester magistrates court on 4 April.

The prosecution followed a fire in the lobby of the White Lodge Hotel in Cheetham Street West, Salford on 13 April 2011. Crews were called at 4.00am and searched the building in breathing apparatus. They rescued a guest from the first floor, despite the manager telling crews that all 13 residents were out of the building at the time.

When fire safety officers attended later that day, they were so concerned about the lack of fire safety measures that a prohibition notice was served preventing anyone staying in the hotel.

Officers also discovered that the fire alarms were faulty and had been wired incorrectly, fire extinguishers were empty, escape routes were inadequate, there was no emergency lighting on one escape route and a fire door had been removed.

An entranceway had been knocked into the wall without building regulations consent, meaning that in the event of a fire, heat, smoke and flames would spread into the staircase.

There was no suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment in place and staff working at the hotel had not received adequate training.

Peter O’Reilly, director of prevention and protection at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, said:

“Mr Chaudhry was running a hotel business and guests at the hotel are entitled to be safe. Fortunately, when the fire occurred nobody was injured, thanks to the professionalism of our crews who attended.

“However, this could have been a very serious incident. It is unacceptable for a hotel business not to have proper procedures in place and put lives at risk.

Mr Chaudhry is due to appear at Manchester Crown Court for sentencing