Tesco has been fined £95,000 and ordered to pay over £34,000 in costs after pleading guilty to five breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The London Fire Brigade prosecuted Tesco after a fire started at their Colney Hatch Store in Barnet during October 2007. The store was locked when they arrived and they had to attract the attention of a Tesco employee to gain access to the building. The fire started in the staff kitchen and staff managed to put it out using fire extinguishers and a fire blanket. Fire fighters had to ask staff to leave the premises several times.
An inspection of the premises the next day revealed a number of breaches of fire safety legislation. The fire risk assessment had not been reviewed, escape routes weren’t kept clear and many fire doors were wedged open.
Ron Dobson, London Fire Commissioner, said: “Fire safety is a key part of good business management and the general public should feel safe from fire when they are out shopping. London Fire Brigade will continue to take action when businesses, large or small, do not take their fire safety responsibilities seriously. Failure to comply with the law can, as this case has shown, result in a prosecution.”