The company that owned the Penhallow Hotel in Newquay where three people died in a fire in August 2007 has been fined £80,000 for breaching fire safety legislation and ordered to pay £62,000 in costs.
O & C Holdsworth plc had previously pleaded guilty at Truro Crown Court to two offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005: failing to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment; and failing to ensure the hotel was properly equipped with detectors and alarms. The company had pleaded not guilty to a third charge of failing to ensure the safety of relevant persons.
At the previous hearing on 23 March, John McMillan, a director of the company, and Nicola Burfitt, an administration manager, were formally found not guilty of the same three charges. Their not guilty pleas were accepted by the prosecution, on the basis that the company accepted responsibility of a failure of their systems, rather than failings of individuals.
The prosecution offered no evidence against another defendant, Martin Tricker, of Hawthorne Safety Consultants.
Welcoming the fine, Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said:
“Our decision to proceed with a prosecution, which was taken after a comprehensive investigation into the fire precautions at the hotel, reflects the seriousness of this case.
“We hope that today’s sentence will send out a very clear message to the hotel and leisure industry where sleeping accommodation is provided of the importance of adhering to fire safety legislation and ensuring the management of fire precautions is a high priority.”
Commenting on the conviction and fine, a statement from O & C Holdsworth said:
"The fire at the Penhallow Hotel in August 2007 was a tragedy and we continue to express our deepest sympathies to all those that have been affected. As a family business with a long history in hotel management everyone at the company has been devastated by what happened.
"Following the fire we immediately initiated a comprehensive review of our health and safety and fire safety procedures at our other hotels and have strengthened the company guidelines and working practices to ensure full compliance."
In 2009 an inquest into the deaths of the three guests – Joan Harper, Monica Hughes and Peter Hughes, all from Staffordshire – returned an open verdict. While arson was suspected, it could not be established conclusively that the deaths were unlawful.
