A recycling company has been fined a total of GB pound 20,000 and ordered to pay GB pound 10,000 costs last week after pleading guilty to five charges under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.
Centrol Recycling Group was convicted at Runcorn Magistrates Court after Cheshire Fire and Rescue brought its first prosecution under the legislation. Problems found by fire safety inspectors during a visit to the firm’s Wideness premises included:
– an external staircase seriously obstructed with gas cylinders and bales of paper nearby
– fire exit doors which could not be opened or were heavily obstructed
– exit routes which were heavily obstructed and had no lighting or signs
– combustible material stored against a boundary fence of an adjacent tanker storage area
– no means of raising the alarm in the event of a fire in the main baling shed
– fire extinguishers which had either been discharged or were empty
“We take our responsibilities under the fire safety regulations extremely seriously and always work hard with local businesses to try to find the right solutions,” said deputy chief fire officer, Mark Cashin. “In serious cases like this, however, we will use our powers to enforce the regulations and prosecute offenders.”
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