26/04/2010 - Tesco fined over fire safety breach
Tesco has pleaded guilty over a fire at one of its supermarkets, and fined £95,000.
It was also ordered to pay £24,321 in costs over breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO).
Tesco was prosecuted by London Fire Brigade after an inspection of the store in Colney Hatch in Barnet.
Firefighters attended the scene after a fire in the kitchen on 14 October 2007, to find the building locked and a shop floor worker restocking after hours.
Staff had extinguished the fire but there was still a significant amount of smoke in the kitchen, the corridor and staff locker rooms. Fire crews had to ask staff several times to evacuate the premises.
Other serious deficiencies included a failure to ensure escape routes were kept clear and an inadequate fire separation in the building due to doors being wedged open.
London Fire Commissioner, Ron Dobson, 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."
Tesco pleaded guilty to five breaches of the RRO. Sentencing took place at Wood Green Crown Court on 20 April 2010.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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