Jail sentence for fire-risk assessor is a “message” to the profession

A fire-risk assessor and the manager of two hotels that he failed to adequately assess have both been jailed for eight months for breaching the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
 
John O’Rourke, of Mansfield Fire Protection Services, and David Liu, who runs the Dial Hotel and the Market Inn, both in Mansfield, were sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on 8 July, having pleaded guilty to various offences under the Order – O’Rourke to two (failure to provide a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment for each hotel) and Liu to five, including a failure to ensure effective means of escape, and a failure to equip the premises with appropriate fire-fighting equipment, detectors and alarms.
 
Sentencing the men, the judge said the time had come to send out a message to those who conduct fire-risk assessments, and to hoteliers who are prepared to put profit before safety.
 
For the full story, visit our sister site www.info4fire.com
 

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