Penhallow Hotel Fire Sparks Improved Safety Call

John Huges, who lost his mother and brother in the Penhallow Hotel fire on 18 August 2007 has called for changes to be made to how hotel Fire Risk Assessments are carried out.

The Penhallow Hotel had no sprinkler system fitted and Mr Hughes said he was concerned that hotels are still able to carry out their own fire risk assessments.

The fire at the 54-bedroom Penhallow Hotel was described by firefighters as the worst British hotel fire in 40 years and it resulted in the building being demolished.

Speaking at a firefighters’ seminar held at the Eden Project in March 2012, Mr Hughes said: “You need hoteliers to be able go to a body to ask: ‘Where is an accredited person to do a fire risk assessment?’

“Hoteliers can currently do fire risks themselves, and I think that’s where it falls down.”

Chief Fire Officer Des Tidbury said the service had been involved in many fire risk assessments since the Penhallow blaze.

The hotel’s owner, O&C Holdsworth Ltd, of Harrison Road, Halifax, Yorkshire, admitted two charges relating to fire safety breaches in March 2011.

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