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February 24, 2011

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Care home slapped with £22,000 fine for serious breaches of fire safety law

The owner and manager of a care home in Newcastle have pleaded guilty to breaching the Fire Safety Order, after a fire at the property.

Tirsul Ltd, the company that owns Bowland Lodge, was ordered by Newcastle Magistrates Court to pay £18,750 in fines and £1,600 in costs for five contraventions of fire safety law.

In an inspection that followed a fire at the property on 18 August 2009, fire safety officers found there had been a failure to carry out a suitable risk assessment, a lack of compartmentation to prevent fire spread and an unsafe external escape route due to building work. They also found the floors, walls and ceilings to be inadequately maintained.

Linda Parkin, manager of the care home, was also fined £2,000 plus £400 costs after pleading guilty to one charge relating to a locked fire exit. Officers found the fire exit nailed shut with a padlock fitted.

Group manager Darren Boddy, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, said: "In this case the breaches placed the residents, staff and visitors at Bowland Lodge in serious danger of death or injury in the event of a fire or other emergency, and we were left with no alternative but to pursue the matter in court."
 

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