Club is fined £4,000 for fire safety breach

Sep 3 2008 by Dan Warburton, The Journal

A NIGHTCLUB owner has been fined £4,000 after a man suffered severe burns when a candle set his shirt on fire. Ultimate Leisure, which owns Sea nightclub on Newcastle’s Quayside, was found guilty of breaching Fire Safety regulations following an incident at the premises on June 23 last year.

Physiotherapist Andrew Reilly, 29, was enjoying a night out with friends when a tea light candle set his shirt alight as he leant over a balcony. He ran to the toilets and took his shirt off, but he had already suffered severe burns and needed treatment at both Newcastle General and the RVI’s Burns Unit.

Mr Reilly, of Low Fell, Gateshead, said: “What was supposed to be a fun night turned into the worst night of my life and will stay with me forever. As well as being excruciatingly painful I have been left with physical reminders with significant scars on my back. I was unable to work for six weeks following the incident.

“As well as the physical injuries it has really knocked my confidence, making me much more self-conscious.”

Tyne and Wear Fire Service, who brought the prosecution against Ultimate Leisure Ltd, said the company had failed in its responsibility to protect its customers.

The company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £975 costs on Monday at Gosforth Magistrates’ Court after being found guilty of breaching the Regulatory Reform Order 2005, which resulted in a man being seriously injured.

The court found the firm had breached its duty of care to take general fire precautions in the event of fire on the premises. The nightclub’s fire risk assessment for the premises was also deemed to be unsuitable and insufficient. It made no mention of the use of tea light candles and staff had not been given any training on how to deal with an incident involving naked flames.

Kevin Hepple, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service’s area manager for community safety, said: “There is no doubt that on this occasion Ultimate Leisure failed in their responsibility to protect their customers against fire and as a result someone has been badly injured.

“The outcome of this case is absolutely the right one. It is our duty to enforce legislation to ensure people in Tyne and Wear are safe from fire.

“We do this by working with businesses wherever we can. However, where there is a serious threat to their safety we will take action to stop this, as has been the case today.

“I would like to take this opportunity to drive home the message to owners and managers of public premises that it is their responsibility to ensure staff and customers are safe from fire.”