Marina owner prosecuted over fire
THE owner of St Mary's Marina on the Rufford Branch of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal has been prosecuted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service for not implementing proper fire precautions.
A narrowboat was being repaired in the workshop when a fire started in the battery compartment owing to a fault in the wiring, it seriously damaging the boat and spreading to the building that was extensively damaged in May of 2013. A man and woman living on the boat escaped the fire but suffered the effects of smoke inhalation, requiring attention by paramedics. (Photographs by courtesy of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.)
Pleaded guilty
The owner of St Mary's Marina, Mr Fitzell, pleaded guilty to three charges brought by the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service under the Regulatory Reform Order, at Preston Magistrates Court:
Failed to take such general fire precautions necessary to ensure the safety of any of relevant persons pursuant to Article 8(1)(b) of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which failure placed one or more relevant persons at risk of death or serious injury in case of fire contrary to Article 32(1)(a) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Failed to make a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment pursuant to Article 9(1) of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which failure placed one or more relevant persons at risk of death or serious injury in case of fire contrary to Article 32 (1) (a) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Failed to ensure the safety of relevant persons by failing to properly maintain a suitable and sufficient fire evacuation procedure for the premises, as required under Article 15(1)(a) of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which failure placed one or more relevant persons at risk of death or serious injury in case of fire contrary to Article 32(1)(a) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Allowed to sleep in boat
Mr Fitzell had pleaded guilty before a trial date was set and his guilty pleas were heard by a District Judge in the Magistrates Court. The Judge took into consideration Mr Fitzell's early plea, good character, his co-operative attitude and that his motive for allowing people to sleep on their boat in the workshop was not financially driven—a couple repairing the boat (that was also their home) in the workshop were allowed to sleep in it.
The Judge concluded that a correctly undertaken fire risk assessment would have identified the unsuitability of people sleeping in the workshop on their boat and would have established that there was a risk involved to people sleeping in the workshop, which in the Judge's opinion led to a significant failing by Mr Fitzell in not undertaking the correct course of action of stopping people sleeping on their boats within the workshop.
Total £13,007
The district Judge therefore referred the sentencing of Mr Fitzell to Crown Court, with the outcome being a fine of £3,000 on each of the three charges with £5887 prosecution costs and the statutory surcharge of £120 making a total of £13,007.
Fire Service Group Manager John Buck who attended the fire stated after sentencing:
"This fire had the clear potential to result in loss of life or serious injury, both to the owners of the vessel and to the fire fighters who took significant risks to ensure that everyone had escaped from the fire. All this could have been prevented had there been the correct procedures in place and the relevant fire safety legislation had been complied with—a view that has been clearly shared by the Court."