Holiday apartments company Au Bord De La Mer, and its owner Philip Hunt, have been ordered to pay £12,800 in fines for failing to put suitable fire safety measures in place in one of their properties.
Holiday Apartment Owner Fined Over Fire Safety
After a fire at Beacon Terrace holiday apartment in Torquay, which consisted of separate flats leased out by Philip Hunt’s letting company, Au Bord De La Mer, fire safety inspectors identified some serious fire safety failings.
On 9 March 2020, Devon and Somerset’s firefighters were called to a fire at 8 Beacon Terrace. They discovered that smoke from the fire had got into the stairway and, as the door of the flat was not fitted with a self-closing device, it was rapidly spreading. The crew dealt with the fire and helped an occupant escape.
After investigation, the fire service found that:
- A fire risk assessment was not done for the premises
- There had been no proper maintenance of the fire alarm system or emergency lighting
- The fire alarm was switched off and did not work – and was the wrong type of alarm with inadequate coverage
- None of the entrance doors to the flats had self-closers fitted
- The responsible person for the premises had attempted to put a management company in place but did not do so due to financing, so left all matters unattended.
Au Bord De La Mer and Hunt were charged with fire safety breaches and pleaded guilty to 11 charges at Plymouth Crown Court on 24 January 2022. Mr Hunt and his company Au Bord De La Mer were ordered by the court to pay a fine totalling £12,800, plus £10,000 in Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service’s legal costs.
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