03 May 2012
A Chinese takeaway owner in Cambridge has been found guilty of endangering lives through various breaches of fire safety regulations.
Cambridge City Council’s environmental health team and fire protection officers deemed that anyone living in the loft-conversion above the Tang Chinese Restaurant in Napier Street was at risk of serious injury or death if a fire had broken out.
The takeaway owner Xueling Teng confessed to a total of 16 breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court as a result, and other business owners are also being urged to ensure they comply with the regulations.
“These breaches were putting lives at risk. This prosecution should serve as a message to other business owners that the Fire Safety Order cannot be ignored – it is there to save lives,” said Steve Cotton, head of fire protection for the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.
The lack of a fire alarm system and emergency lighting were two of the principal problems and officials said that there was not an adequate means of escape if the building was to catch fire.
A prohibition notice has been placed on the building, rendering certain areas out of bounds until they are improved, and the owner Mr Teng has been instructed to pay a £2,000 fine and a further £1,000 in costs.
Copyright Press Association 2012