22 Mar 2012
A Portsmouth pub has been damaged after a blaze began in the kitchen on one of its busiest days of the year.
Firefighters fought the flames at the Horse & Jockey pub in Hipley, Denmead, on the evening of March 18, according to portsmouth.co.uk.
Some 26 emergency staff battled the blaze, which was started on a grill then made its way to the roof of the building. They stopped the fire from spreading to the rest of the property, which was slightly smoke damaged.
Landlord of the pub, Dick Orders, told the website: “I heard the alarm and got up on the roof to try and put it out, but then I saw it was inside the flat roof and we got everyone out.
“Nobody panicked and everybody stayed calm.”
A “suitable and sufficient” risk assessment must legally be carried out on all commercial buildings in Wales and England, into fire hazards.
An unlimited fine or two-year prison sentence can be handed to the Responsible Person if the fire risk assessment is thought to have been carried out insufficiently.
Copyright Press Association 2012