Large fines continue for fire safety breaches

Greggs the bakers has been fined £50,000 and ordered to pay a further £20,326 in costs after pleading guilty to serious fire breaches at one of its stores.Greggs PLC was prosecuted by the London Fire Brigade following an audit of one of their shops in Brentford in November 2008. Fire safety investigators found a number of contraventions including corridors that were partially blocked by plastic crates and a fire exit that was locked by four padlocks. At the other side of the fire exit was a security door which was also locked.Appearing at Isleworth Crown Court on 13 December, Greggs pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. These were under article nine, for shortcomings found in its fire risk assessment, and article 14, which concerned emergency routes and exits.Other similar prosecutions (see below) show why companies need to make sure their fire safety risk assessments are sufficient and up-to-date. Safer Food Scores has ex-fire officers and fire safety specialists working as consultants, trainers and auditors so we are well placed to assist you. Please contact us for more information.In April 2010, the Co-operative Group – the UK’s largest mutual retailer – was fined £210,000 after pleading guilty to six breaches of fire safety legislation.It followed an investigation in 2007 at one of the Co-op’s Southampton branches. Officers from Hampshire Fire and Rescue found that the store had failed to keep the rear emergency exit doors unlocked, and had fitted a lock on the exit doors that required a security code – making the exit harder to open in an emergency. In addition, the fire alarm call point was found to be obstructed and the alarm had not been tested regularly, while the store’s manager was not instructed in fire safety. In the same month, Tesco was fined £95,000 and ordered to pay over £24,000 in costs after pleading guilty to five breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO).London Fire Brigade, prosecuting, said firefighters were called to a fire at Tesco’s Colney Hatch store in Barnet on 14 October 2007. When they arrived found the premises locked but managed to gain access after attracting the attention of an employee who was restocking shelves. There had been a fire in the staff kitchen but it had been put out by staff using extinguishers and a fire blanket. There was still a significant amount of smoke in the kitchen, the corridor and staff locker rooms and crews had to ask staff several times to evacuate the premises.This incident made officers concerned about fire safety in the store, so on the following day they inspected the premises. A number of breaches of fire safety legislation were found, including a failure to review the store’s fire risk assessment, a failure to ensure escape routes were kept clear and inadequate fire separation due to doors being wedged open.Tesco pleaded guilty to failing to keep emergency exits clear (£20,000 fine); failing to keep an emergency route clear (£20,000); two counts of fire doors being wedged open (£20,000 each) and storing flammable materials under an emergency stairwell (£15,000). Sentencing took place at Wood Green Crown Court on 20 April 2010.The ability of the Courts to impose such large fines was supported by the Court of Appeal in June 2010. It upheld a record £400,000 fine against retailer New Look. According to Law firm Shoosmiths, the judgement suggests that in allowing fire safety risks to persist, organisations create “a risk of almost unrivalled proportions to individuals” and that this should be reflected in the level of fines.The high level of the fine came as a surprise to many in health and safety legal circles, given that there were no deaths or injuries arising from the fire in 2009 at New Look’s Oxford Street premises.The ‘starting point of New Look’s fine was actually £600,000, but was discounted at the original hearing to £400,000 in view of factors such as there being no casualties and New Look pleading guilty. The Court of Appeal’s endorsement of that level of represents a departure from the norm in health and safety cases, where fines of £500,000 and over are reserved for cases of major public disaster.Partner and regulatory specialist at Shoosmiths, Ron Reid, said the fine related to New Look’s failure to control risk.“The hefty fine removes any doubt that retailers, and other organisations responsible for fire safety, cannot be complacent when it comes to complying with the regulations. This penalty was imposed because of a failure to control risk rather than as a result of injury.“Whatever the opinion about the level of fine, there’s no question that managers ignoring or failing to address fire safety risk obligations now do so at their peril.”

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