Whitby restaurant fined over fire safety breach

A Whitby restaurant owner has been fined £50,000 after he admitted not complying with six fire safety regulations. Azad Hussain, former company director of Kam Thai (Whitby) Ltd in Church Street, pleaded guilty at York Crown Court.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service carried out a fire safety inspection at the restaurant on August 8 and found a number of serious fire safety deficiencies regarding the accommodation provided for employees.

This included a failure to carry out a written fire risk assessment, a failure to have a working fire alarm and detection system in place, storage of combustible items within in the means of escape, inadequate fire separation, lack of fire training of employees and a failure to comply with an Enforcement Notice.

Mr Hussain was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £6,800 in costs. The Company Kam Thai (Whitby) Ltd was also fined £6,000.

“Had a fire broken out on either the ground or first floor it is highly likely that there would have been a high risk to life potentially endangering the lives of others. These were extremely serious multiple offences, which continued over a significant period of time, aggravated by a failure to heed warnings given by fire officers.”

– HIS HONOUR JUDGE JAMIESON QC

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