Hotel Fire Safety Fact File 2012

2012

Hotel Fire Safety - Fact File

Alan Cox

CHAPTER 1 Introduction

We all stay in hotels at some time in our lives but do we ever stop to think how safe they are from fire and if a fire started could we get out safely.

It’s a good bet that many of us do not think about this subject because we believe that somebody else will have taken care of it—but have they and will the new UK Fire Safety Reforms have the desired effect?

What do we look for when we book a hotel?

• A good location.

• A nice room.

• Good food.

• Good facilities.

• Good value for money.

Depending on why we book the hotel some things may not be quite so important, if it’s a business trip the cost may not be a major factor but on a holiday it may be the most important one. Everyone wants a nice room and good food and of course whilst it’s not the first thing that we think about we all want a safe environment, particularly when a fire occurs.

Serious Hotel Fires Until the Penhallow Fire in 2007 the UK has not had a serious hotel fire in recent years but let us look at some of the more serious fires from around the world: 1969 - 11 people died in a hotel in Saffron Walden, UK (Rose & Crown) 1977 - 19 people died in a hotel in Brussels 1980 - 84 people died in a hotel in Las Vegas, USA (MGM Grand) 1980 - 26 people died in a hotel fire in the USA (Stouffers Inn) 1981 - 8 people died in a hotel in Las Vegas (Hilton) 1986 - 97 people died in a hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA (Dupont Plaza Hotel) 1993 - 20 people died in a hotel in Illinois, USA 1995 - 30 people died in a hotel in Anshan, China 1997 - 91 people died in a hotel in Thailand 1999 - 20 people died in a hotel in Changchun, China 2000 - 15 people died in a hotel in Australia (Childers Hotel) 2001 - 2 people died in a fire in a hotel in Bolton, UK 2

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2001 - 70 people died in a hotel the Philippines (Manor Hotel) 2001 - 14 people died in a hotel in Kashmir, India 2003 - 33 people died in a hotel fire in Bejing, China (Tiantan Hotel) 2003 - 3 people died in a hotel fire in South Africa (Rand Inn ) 2004 - 3 people died in a hotel in Rome (Parco dei Principi Hotel) 2005 - 22 people died and 50 injured in a hotel fire in Paris (Paris Opera Hotel) 2006 - 12 people died in a hotel fire in Reno, USA (Mizpah Hotel) 2006 - 5 people died in a hotel fire in NE China (Xinqiao Hotel) 2007 - 3 people died in a hotel fire in Newquay, UK (Penhallow Hotel) The above list only represents a small proportion of the hotel fires where multiple fatalities and injuries have occurred.

Have we been lucky in the UK or was our approach better than these other countries?

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SECTION 1 About Alan Cox

Alan has worked in the fire and safety profession for over 40 years and has seen many tragedies during his career. He has also seen many changes in fire and safety legislation – some good and some not so good together with the introduction of many new fire safety standards and guides. His career has involved many varying aspects of fire safety engineering from rural and city fire fighting, enforcement, the production of standards and guides, through to the design of complex fire suppression systems. He worked and studied with colleagues in the USA and has managed fire and safety in different countries around the world.

Part of his career was spent working in the NHS which was at the time that they had Crown immunity and suffered a number of multiple life loss fires. The latter part of his career was spent working for HSBC who also suffered a multiple life loss fire in one of their branches.

During his career he has received many awards for his achievements and now works as an independent fire and safety consultant.

Alan travels extensively during his work and stays in many hotels and it never fails to amaze him how many fire safety problems that he sees – these are just a few of the ones that that he has seen during the last six years.

Authors Note All of these problems and pictures were notified, except where stated to the owner or General Manager, unfortunately, many choose not to respond and therefore I was obliged to send copies of my observations to the relevant fire authority. In most cases the photographs only show part of the problem and there were many more aspects that needed attention but have not been included. Obviously, I have no way of knowing if these problems have been rectified.

This report is produced on areas that I saw as a guest and not as someone who had access to all areas of the premises. The purpose of this document is to show the extent of poor fire safety in hotels and premises providing sleeping accommodation and to put this information in the public domain. It is done in order to help improve the situation and to make hotels safer places.

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CHAPTER 2 H o t e l F i re S a f e t y - W h e re t o n o w ?

When we stay in a hotel we all expect it to be safe and that in the event of a fire we will be able to leave the building safely – but can we be sure of this and who is looking after the guests’ interests?

If you are staying in a hotel or guest house in the UK or Europe in the first instance you are in the hands of the hotel who have a legal obligation to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment and to act on the findings but how good this assessment is depends on a number of factors including: • The fire standards of the country and how good the enforcement is.

• How good the fire risk assessment is.

• How good hotel the management is.

• How well both the active and passive fire safety measures are installed and maintained. !

As can be seen there are many variable factors to consider and simply looking at the fire statistics of individual countries does not give you an accurate view of how safe you are likely to be as there are no standard statistics to compare and no standard fire risk assessment for each country. What are hotels doing about it?

So what are the hotels doing about it? HOTREC which describes itself as the trade association representing the hospitality sector in Europe has published the HOTREC MBS Methodology – Guidelines to fire safety in European Hotels and claim that “Eighteen months after the release of the MBS methodology, we see a strong rising interest from our membership to promote this instrument across Europe. Starting with six countries, we are now reaching a total of 13 European countries in which our scheme is being endorsed by hotel associations, and we are confident that even more will join that club very soon”.

ANEC, which is the European consumer voice in standardization, claims that “Twenty-five years after 5 of 46

the EU Recommendation 86/666/EC on fire safety in hotels, and 20 months after the adoption of the HOTREC MBS Methodology – guidelines for fire safety in Europe, consumers are still waiting for a more binding instrument able to achieve their expectations on safety. ANEC questions the claim that hoteliers are using the MBS Methodology and welcomes the recommendation of the European Parliament to look for regulatory solutions if self-regulation fails” I personally believe that whilst the HOTREC MBS Methodology is better than nothing the document is not as good as it could be and has a number of flaws and does not give any guidance on smoking, portable electrical appliance testing, fixed electrical wiring tests and does not contain any reference to having a fire policy but relies solely on the provision of a Fire Register but there is no example of what this Fire Register should look like or an example of what a Fire Risk Assessment should contain.

The HOTREC Charter contains seven main points: • Designate a person to be responsible for fire safety in the hotel.

• Maintain a Fire Safety Register containing information relating to fire safety systems, management procedures and training.

• Prepare an Emergency Response Plan.

• Ensure that every member of staff receives information, instruction and training in fire safety in accordance with their duties.

• Organise a planned and documented fire evacuation drill in the hotel at least once a year.

• Ensure that all fire safety systems are regularly inspected and maintained by suitable qualified persons.

• Have a regular Fire Risk Assessment carried out and take corrective action.

Major failing One of the other major failings that I see is that there is no way that the consumer can identify if a hotel or guest house has met or complies with any fire standard at all be it a trade, national or self compliance standard before the hotel is booked and I see this as a major problem. If you can see how safe a car is through the NCAP ratings before you buy it - surely we should be able to see how safe a hotel or boarding house is before we book it and put our lives in the hands of the unknown?

Obviously, good standards of fire safety and enforcement are a fundamental requirement for any effective fire safety plan together with a fire safety policy that sets out the responsibilities of individuals and outlines what is to be achieved and the expectations of the policy. This is not something that can be easily factored into a register as this is more about what has happened rather than what should happen.

A fire register is still needed but this should be provided as part of the management plan and will be needed to show the authorities what maintenance has or has not been undertaken. It also goes without saying that there is no point in having a good fire safety policy if this is not enforced with strong fire safety management together with effective active and passive fire safety measures.

The present situation.

At present when you book into a hotel you have to hope that all of the above aspects have been considered and that the fire risk assessment has been done by a competent person and the correct recommendations were put into place but there is also another aspect to consider and that is - were the 6 of 46

results of the Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) right and were any problems correctly rectified?

Unfortunately, you probably won’t know this until you have another FRA carried out, the fire service inspects or you have a fire. This period of time could be years rather than months because the fire service are only inspecting between 5 and 8% of known properties a year and are finding around 51% of hotels are unsatisfactory which are very worrying figures. What of course is more worrying for the potential guest is that they will be unaware of this situation and could be staying in a hotel that does not meet current fire standards and also has no way of knowing this.

Can we learn from the USA? If you want to book a hotel in the USA they have the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990, which is an Act of Congress aimed at improving fire safety in hotels, motels, and other places of public accommodation. The Act states that Federal employees, when on official travel, should stay in fire-safe accommodations. Each Federal agency must ensure that at least 90% of travel nights are spent in such properties. Some agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), require 100% of travel nights to be spent in approved accommodations.

For the purposes of this Act, every guest-room in a hotel or motel and each apartment/condominium must have an AC-powered smoke alarm. These are commonly called hard-wired. The alarm must be installed in accordance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 72. An alarm that is solely battery-powered is not acceptable. An AC-powered alarm with battery backup is desirable, but not required. If the building is more than three stories in height, it must also have a full automatic sprinkler system. Systems installed before October 25, 1992, and meeting whatever local code was in effect at the time are acceptable, provided there is at least one sprinkler head in every guest room.

Sprinkler systems installed on or after that date must meet NFPA Standard 13 or 13R. The U.S. Fire Administration compiles a list of such properties. For purposes of the Act, fire-safe means listed in the National Master List of Fire Safe Hotels and Motels. The List is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/hotel/. You can also phone for a list of which hotels are available in the area where you require accommodation.

Listed properties can put up Federal government employees and host federally funded conferences. This should provide a significant incentive - to be eligible for a share of the Federal government's annual $25,000,000,000 travel expenditures. This business is not be available to non-listed properties.

To get listed a hotel must apply for listing and there is no charge for listing which can be applied for online.

In each State, the Governor has appointed an official to give or deny approval for a property requesting to be included in the Master List. Usually, this official is the state fire marshal or his designee. A list of State Project Officers is also available at the USFA Website. If approved by the State Project Officer, USFA will add the property to the Master List.

This Act does not replace State or local fire safety requirements; rather it complements them and would certainly help improve the general level of fire safety in hotels in UK and Europe if it was introduced.

Whilst this system has some faults it is undoubtedly a lot better than what we have in the UK and Europe at present and allows the public to choose a hotel which is known to meet the agreed basic minimum standards of fire safety.

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My experience Take a look at the hotels that I have highlighted in this book - they are not all of the hotels that I have stayed but just a cross section of hotels in the UK and one from Europe that are good examples of where both the current and previous legislation has not provided the level of fire safety that I believe people are entitled to. I leave it to the reader to decide who is to blame.

What about hotels in Europe?

It would be nice to think that we have a common standard across Europe but fire safety is even more fragmented here with some countries having good standards and some having very poor standards.

I believe that the consumer in Europe has the right to expect a common minimum standard of hotel fire safety when staying in any type of accommodation inEurope.

Council recommendation 86/666/EC on fire safety in hotels adopted more than 25 years ago had the aim of defining a clear minimum fire safety standard in all hotels in the EU but unfortunately it has not achieved this aim because of: • • •

Inconsistency in its application.

Changing in thinking and standards.

Lack of understanding.

Unfortunately, this has resulted in a number of serious hotel fires that have resulted in: • •

A number of multiple death fires.

Serious injury and property loss.

There have also been a number of studies that have confirmed these problems including: • • •

The 2001 Commission Report on the Application of the Recommendation.

The 2008 European Parliament Study on Hotel Safety.

The FTO /ABTA Analysis on the Implementation of 86/666/EEC

Where to now?

This is a problem that we have to consider if things are to improve because with the current situation fire safety is unlikely to get any better in Europe without some form of positive action.

As can be seen from some of the examples that I have shown in this fact file fire safety in the UK is very fragmented and inconsistent and this also appears to be the case in some countries in the EU. Council recommendation 86/666/EC was issued more than 25 years ago but even the UK is not fully complying with this so I feel that we need to look at the problem from a new perspective and decide where we need to go or should we just carry on doing our own thing and hope things will get better.

The information in this fact file is put into the public arena to help interested persons judge the situation for themselves.

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SECTION 1 Devoncourt Holiday Flats, BRIXHAM, DEVON Devoncourt is a purpose built block of 24 one and two bedroom flats. The building only had one unprotected staircase for fire escape purposes. The Fire Service indicated that they had not visited this building for many years.

This picture shows the head of the unprotected stairs with non fire rated doors.

This is where you would expect to see fire resisting doors to separate the stairs from the corridor. Whilst the frame is still there the doors have been removed

Here you can see one of the very few fire extinguishers that had not been serviced for many years

This is the “dead end” corridor view from the single unprotected staircase - it should have had fire rated doors and glazing to protect individual flats but as can be seen her it has neither.

This picture shows a non fire rated chair and unprotected service rooms on the stairs.

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SECTION 2 T h e L i v e r m e a d C l i f f H o t e l , T O R Q U AY, D E V O N The Livermead Cliff Hotel has 67 en suite bedrooms and has been extended a number of times. A Fire Certificate was issued in July 1976.

The hotel was also featured in the BBC Inside Out programme that I made on Hotel Fire Safety.

This is one of the external fire escapes that have not been adequately fire protected. Notice the open unprotected windows that would prevent the stairs from being used if a fire occurred in that area. The area at the bottom is a kitchen which is considered to be a “high risk” area.

Even if you could get down the staircase this is what you would have met at the bottom - a convenient store area for old equipment and other rubbish.

This picture was taken in the Hotel Restaurant and here you can see the Fire Exit obstructed by tables and chairs.

Here you can see an excessive gap at the head of the fire door - this is one of the most important parts of the doorset and is where they tend to fail first.

This picture shows a fire resisting door that protects a staircase that is both held open ant an effective fire door.

A bath room that is used as a mattress store and has no fire protection as well as being on a “dead end” corridor.

A fire exit that has been created through a bedroom with no means of opening it - you have to hope that the room is occupied if you need to use it.

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SECTION 3 The Bear Hotel, WOODSTOCK, OXFORDSHIRE The Bear Hotel belongs to the MACDONALD Group and was th originally a 13 century coaching inn with 54 rooms.

This picture shows a fire door to a store room left open. The notice indicates that it should be locked shut.

The underside of the stairs was not protected and there was no automatic fire detection

Here you can see where the smoke strip is missing from the combined fire and smoke seal.

A fire door not closing correctly.

No emergency number to call.

This picture shows a pair of fire doors that are not closing correctly. This would allow fire and smoke to quickly spread to the stairs.

A fire door with only 2 hinges - should be 3 to prevent the door bowing in a fire situation.

Combustible storage underneath an unprotected staircase.

A fire door to an electrical store left open.

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The Bear Hotel, WOODSTOCK, OXFORDSHIRE

An excessive gap under fire doors - although this is not the most important part of the doors because the gap is so large it would allow a lot of smoke to reach the stairs.

There is an extensive network of external fire escapes and whilst it is fire protected in parts - large areas were not protected with fire resisting glazing. A fire on the ground floor could easily put these escapes out of use very quickly.

An electric fan with no record of PAT testing.

Large amounts of combustible storage in the roof space.

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SECTION 4 The Strand Palace Hotel, LONDON

The Strand Palace Hotel is a large city centre hotel in London having 785 bedrooms.

This picture shows where a ladder has been left across one of the main fire escape stairs

These are very badly damaged fire doors that certainly would not perform to their required fire standard.

A fire door with only 2 hinges - should have 3 to prevent bowing in a fire situation.

Poorly fitting fire doors protecting the fire escape stairs.

A fire door held open - probably by the new carpet.

A hose reel that was leaking and needed new tubing - notice dated 12c months earlier.

Damaged smoke strips on a fire resisting door.

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The Strand Palace Hotel, LONDON

This fire door was damaged and had been left open - the Conduit left across the fire escape stairs. only separation between the kitchen and fire escape stairs.

Fire protection that had been removed from one of the rising service shafts.

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SECTION 5 T h e M i l l a n d O l d S w a n , M I N S T E R L O VA L L , O X F O R D S H I R E Part of the De Vere Venues Group this 62 bedroom hotel consists th of a 19 century mill th and 17 century inn. It has now changed its name to The Old Swan and Minster Mill.

An automatic fire door that won’t close because it was catching on the floor.

A fire door that should be kept locked shut left open

Waste smoking materials thrown on to a combustible roof.

A fire hose reel that has been removed but the notice still indicates that it is operational.

A hole that has been made in a fire door frame and not made good.

A fire door wedged open.

An emergency light with the indicator light not showing.

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T h e M i l l a n d O l d S w a n , M I N S T E R L O VA L L , O X F O R D S H I R E

Damaged fire resisting glazing in a fire screen.

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SECTION 6 T h e G l e n g a r r y C a s t l e H o t e l , I N V E R G A R R Y, S C O T L A N D

This 26 bedroom hotel is privately run and the owner confirmed that it was issued with a Fire Certificate and also has a Fire Risk Assessment.

A fire door “wedged open.”

A fire door “wedged open.”

A Fire Hose Reel with no operating instructions.

A bedroom fire door that was not up to the required standard.

A poorly fitting fire door

A poorly fitting fire door

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T h e G l e n g a r r y C a s t l e H o t e l , I N V E R G A R R Y, S C O T L A N D

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SECTION 7 T h e C r o w n H o t e l , H A R R O G AT E , N O R T H Y O R K S H I R E This 121 bedroom hotel th is an 18 century coaching inn.

The owner did not reply to any of my communications.

A fire door to a bedroom held open by a tin of paint.

A fire door at the bottom of the stairs left open and doors stored within the staircase enclosure.

A fire door to a linen room left open.

A fire door left open.

Missing fire protection from the ceiling in a linen room.

A fire door left open.

A fire door left open.

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T h e C r o w n H o t e l , H A R R O G AT E , N O R T H Y O R K S H I R E

No fire stopping provided where cables rise from the basement into the hotel.

A “bagged off�smoke detector

A combustible mattress stored in the staircase.

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SECTION 8 T h e W h i t e Wa t e r H o t e l , N E W B Y B R I D G E , C U M B R I A

The Whitewater Hotel is part of the Heritage Resorts International Group.

It has 35 rooms and a fitness centre.

A fire door held open.

A fire door where a hinge has been removed - fire doors require 3 hinges to prevent bowing in fire situations.

A fire door held open.

A fire door not closing fully into the frame.

A fire door with a ventilation grill.

A fire door with the 3rd hinge removed.

A poorly fitting fire door.

A fire door held open.

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The White Water Hotel, NEWBY BRIDGE, CUMBRIA

No record of electrical (PAT) testing.

A fire door held open with a vacuum cleaner.

Combustible storage in the staircase.

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SECTION 9 T h e O t t e r b u r n To w e r H o t e l , O T T E R B U R N , N O R T H U M B E R L A N D

The Otterburn Tower Hotel has 18 bedrooms and had a current Fire Certificate during my stay.

Fire doors “wedged open.”

Fire doors “wedged open.”

Fire doors “wedged open.”

No record of electrical (PAT) testing.

This is the notice you find on Reception at night. Had I not gone there I would have been unaware of this additional procedure.

The Fire Notice indicates that the Receptionist will call the Fire Service but the desk is not manned at night.

The fire door is starting to delaminate.

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SECTION 10 The Netherwood Grange Hotel,GRANGE OVER SANDS,CUMBRIA

The Netherwood Grange hotel has 35 bedrooms and had a current Fire Certificate during my stay.

I wrote to the General Manager about the fire safety problems but he did not reply.

Fire door “wedged open.” This picture also shows a Fire Exit notice directing guests to the main open staircase, however I think that a by pass route was available by the room on the left.

Fire door “wedged open”

This bedroom door was not self closing and the construction looked unlikely to meet a 30 minute fire resisting standard.

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S E C T I O N 11 T h e D e Ve r e Ve n u e H i g h f i e l d P a r k , H O O K , H A M P S H I R E The De Vere Venue Highfield Park has 58 bedrooms and is also used as a conference centre.

It was confirmed that a Fire Risk Assessment had been carried out.

An excessive gap between fire doors.

Table and chairs obstructing a fire exit.

A fire door “wedged open”.

A fire door “wedged open”.

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T h e D e Ve r e Ve n u e H i g h f i e l d P a r k , H O O K ,

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SECTION 12 Wa r n e r s T h o re s b y H a l l , O L L E RTO N , N O T T I N G H A M S H I R E Thoresby Hall Hotel is part of the Warners Group and it is operated as a hotel and leisure centre.

A fire partition that has not been made fire resisting.

Fire door left open and poor housekeeping.

Fire door left open and poor housekeeping.

This picture shows a fire resisting door but the glazing has not been made fire resisting.

Poorly fitting fire doors.

A store with the fire door left open.

A fire partition that has not been made fire resisting.

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Wa r n e r s T h o re s b y H a l l , O L L E RTO N , N O T T I N G H A M S H I R E

No emergency number shown.

A fire door held open with a cigarette machine.

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SECTION 13 T h e O s b o r n e H o t e l , T O R Q U AY, D E V O N The

Osborne

Hotel

has

32

bedrooms.

I wrote to the General Manager but did not receive a reply so I sent a copy of my observations to the Fire Authority.

A Fire Exit sign without a pictogram.

A fire door not closing correctly.

A fire door not closing correctly.

A poorly fitting fire door.

Fire Exit sign that has not been fixed to the wall.

Fire door to a service duct left open.

Fire door held open with a towel.

Fire door not closing correctly.

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T h e O s b o r n e H o t e l , T O R Q U AY, D E V O N

Holes in fire protection not made good.

Holes in fire protection not made good.

Out of date electrical testing (PAT)

Combustible storage on an escape route.

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SECTION 14 T h e A b e r a v o n B e a c h H o t e l , A B E R AV O N , S O U T H WA L E S

The Aberavon Beach Hotel has 52 rooms.

It is part of the Best Western group.

Many of the double fire doors did not have leaf selectors which can prevent them closing correctly.

Many of the fire doors were not indicated.

This fire door is only fitted with two hinges - there should be three to prevent the door bowing in a fire.

This Fire Notice has a different emergency number to contact in an emergency from others in the hotel

This Fire Notice directs guests to use the open staircase in a fire emergency rather than the protected escape route.

This fire door was fitted with aluminium hinges which should only be used if part of the original manufacturers specification

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SECTION 15 Wa r n e r s , C R I C K E T S T T H O M A S , S O M E R S E T

The complex is operated as a hotel and leisure centre and is part of the Warners Group.

A fire door to a service riser left open.

A fire door “wedged open.”

Poorly fitting fire doors.

A fire door held open with a cabin hook.

A fire door to the linen room “wedged open” and poor housekeeping.

A fire door to an office held open by a waste bin.

The top oa a fire door with no smoke or fire strips,

This notice suggests that you dial 715 in an emergency but the Guest Book states 0.

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Wa r n e r s , C R I C K E T S T T H O M A S , S O M E R S E T

Furniture in contact with an electrical heater.

This picture shows a poorly illuminated exit in the function room.

An exit that sends you through the Wildlife Park in the day but it is locked at night.

The Pavilion Lounge could hold a significant number of people but this is one of the only exits showing an emergency light.

This is one of the other fire exits with no illumination.

One of the emergency lights outside to Pavilion that does not appear to be working.

A Gas Emergency Control Notice not completed.

A fire door held open by the carpet.

Exposed and unprotected electrical wiring in the lift.

Large amounts of combustible rubbish stored adjacent to a building.

A smoking area next to an LPG filling area.

The Fire Alarm Panel showing a fault and disabled.

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Wa r n e r s , C R I C K E T S T T H O M A S , S O M E R S E T

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SECTION 16 T h e W h i t e H a r t , M E N H E N I O T , C O R N WA L L

The White Hart Hotel has 6 bedrooms and has a single means of escape. The Landlord also st lives with his family on the 1 floor.

A fire door held open with cabin hooks.

A fire door to the laundry left open and trailing electrical leads.

A fire door to the linen store left open.

Tumble dryers left operating with open fire door.

A fire door between the bar and single fire stairs left open.

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SECTION 17 Buckatree Hall Hotel, TELFORD,SHROPSHIRE This hotel has 62 bedrooms and a large function room.

A fire door that was held open 24 hours a day - the notice stated “to be closed at night.�

Fire doors without Fir Door - Keep Shut notices.

A totally obstructed fire escape route.

Poorly fitting double fire doors.

A fire door with no smoke or fire strips left open.

A compressed gas cylinder stored in a linen store,

A fire door left open.

A poorly fitting fire door.

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Buckatree Hall Hotel, TELFORD,SHROPSHIRE

This door was deadlocked during all functions.

A fire escape route that remained in this state for 4 days.

This fire door was permanently “wedged open”.

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SECTION 18 Peckforton Castle Hotel, PECKFORTON,CHESHIRE

This hotel has 48 bedrooms and a large function room.

After my stay I sent an 11 page report to the owner highlighting the problems but unfortunately 3 weeks after my stay the hotel suffered a 6 million pound fire.

A fire door “wedged open.�

A fire door with a hole in it.

A fire door left open

A fire door where a hinge has been repositioned but the frame has not been made good.

A fire door where the auto hold open has been removed and so the door will not close. The door also has no fire or smoke seals.

A poorly fitting fire door.

A fire door frame that has not been sealed to the wall.

A fire door where a hinge has been repositioned but the frame has not been made good.

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Peckforton Castle Hotel, PECKFORTON,CHESHIRE

A fire door where the hold open device has been removed.

A fire door wedged open with a spoon..

A fire door frame that has not been sealed to the wall.

Holes in fire walls that have not been made good.

A poorly fitting fire door.

Corridor fire doors held open with no automatic fire detection.

A fire door that has dropped and is sitting on the floor.

Lighted candles on an escape route during a function.

The hotel also has an unusual feature of open light and ventilation wells that connect floors.

Another view of the light/ventilation well.

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Peckforton Castle Hotel, PECKFORTON,CHESHIRE EXCLUSIVE: Wedding castle warned about fire safety three weeks before blaze 30 June 2011 The management of Peckforton Castle in Cheshire, which last week suffered a serious fire affecting three floors, had been alerted to concerns over fire safety at the hotel just three weeks before the blaze.

Fire safety consultant Alan Cox wrote to the hotel after staying there last month. Among his concerns were fire doors with hold open devices removed, poorly fitting fire doors, fire doors without smoke seals, cable penetrations not sealed, queries on the siting and/or absence of a number of smoke detectors, and concerns over the large number of candles being used.

Around 70 guests were evacuated from the building when the fire broke out just before 5.00am on Sunday 19 June. At its height 100 firefighters tacked the blaze, which took most of the day to bring under control. Around a quarter of the castle was damaged in the fire.

A man, believed to be a bridegroom of a wedding party staying at the hotel, has been charged with two counts of arson and is due to appear at Chester Crown Court on 26 July.

Responding to the points raised by Mr Cox, a spokesperson for Peckforton Castle said: “Following Mr Cox’s correspondence Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service undertook a full audit of Peckforton Castle’s fire safety arrangements on 6 June 2011. It was judged that the issues were not major life risk concerns and the fire service concluded that with a few changes, Peckforton Castle would more than comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005, and it was agreed no further inspections were necessary.

“Alterations needed were some additional fire detection arrangements in one corridor of the hotel, an improvement in the condition of the sandstone stairs and some minor fire door and structural defects.”

The spokesperson added that none of these points had any bearing on the cause or spread of the fire, and that the issues featured in Mr Cox’s letter were in a separate section of the castle.

“The fire was contained within one room of the castle and only the rooms above the source of the fire were damaged. This would not have been the case should Peckforton Castle had had inadequate fire safety arrangements – after all the biggest test to any fire safety arrangements is surely a fire!”

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SECTION 19 F a l m o u t h B e a c h H o t e l , F A L M O U T H , C O R N WA L L This hotel has 123 bedrooms and a fitness centre.

The hotel was also featured on the BBC Inside Out programme on Hotel Fire Safety.

I wrote to the owners and pointed out the problems and received a reply indicating that they intended to put the problems right.

Unfortunately, the hotel was destroyed in a fire in 2012.

A fire door to the basement left open.

A poorly fitting bedroom fire door.

A fire door wedged open.

A fire door held open by the carpet..

A fire door left open.

A fire door with no intumescent or smoke strips and not self closing.

Fire doors where the smoke strips have been removed..

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SECTION 20 T h e Tu l i p H o t e l , B U D A P E S T, H U N G A R Y This hotel was booked for me by a UK travel company and as you can see has very little in the way of structural fire protection.

When I wrote and asked them for their comments they replied that it was approved by the fire service and had been inspected by their nominated risk consultants.

I have now heard from the Hungarian Fire Service who have agreed with my observations.

The length of this undivided corridor would allow smoke/fire to quickly spread through the hotel.

Staircase doors left open - the gaps around the doors and lack of fire/smoke seals would prevent these doors stopping fire/smoke travel.

Staircase doors left open - the gaps around the doors and lack of fire/smoke seals would prevent these doors stopping fire/smoke travel.

View from inside bedroom.

Storage of combustibles in the staircase.

View of reception area

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INDEX Chapter 1

Introduction

Page 2

Section 1

About Alan Cox

Page 4

Chapter 2

Hotel Fire Safety - where to now?

Page 5

Section 1

The Devoncourt Holiday Flats, Brixham, Devon

Page 10

Section 2

The Livermead Cliff Hotel, Torquay, Devon

Page 11

Section 3

The Bear Hotel, Woodstock, Oxfordshire

Page 12

Section 4

The Strand Palace Hotel, London

Page 14

Section 5

The Mill and Old Swan, Minster Lovall, Oxfordshire

Page 16

Section 6

The Glengarry Castle Hotel, Invergarry, Scotland

Page 18

Section 7

The Crown Hotel, Harrogate, North Yorkshire

Page 20

Section 8

The White Water Hotel, Newby Bridge, Cumbria

Page 22

Section 9

The Otterburn Tower Hotel, Otterburn, Northumberland

Page 24

Section 10

Netherwood Grange Hotel, Grange over Sands, Cumbria

Page 25

Section 11

DeVere Venue Highfield Park, Hook, Hampshire

Page 26

Section 12

Warners Thoresby Hall, Ollerton, Nottinghamshire

Page 28

Section 13

The Osborne Hotel, Torquay, Devon

Page 30

Section 14

Aberavon Beach Hotel, Aberavon, South Wales

Page 32

Section 15

Warners Cricket St Thomas, Somerset

Page 33

Section 16

The White Hart, Menheniot, Cornwall

Page 36

Section 17

Buckatree Hall Hotel, Telford, Shropshire

Page 37

Section 18

Peckforton Castle Hotel, Peckforton, Cheshire

Page 39

Section 19

Falmouth Beach Hotel, Falmouth, Cornwall

Page 42

Section 20

The Tulip Hotel, Budapest, Hungary

Page 43

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