Supermarket giant fined for fire regulation breach (From Times Series)

Supermarket giant Tesco fined for fire regulation breach discovered following staff kitchen blaze at its Friern Barnet store

12:50pm Thursday 22nd April 2010 in Top Stories By Kevin Bradford

A SUPERMARKET chain has been ordered to pay out almost £120,000 after admitting to breaching stringent fire regulations at a store in Friern Barnet.

Bosses at the leading retailer Tesco were called before the courts after fire chiefs found “serious deficiencies” in fire safety procedures following a blaze at the Colney Hatch Lane store in October, 2007.

The company was fined £95,000 and told to pay more than £23,000 in court costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.

Fire crews were called after a blaze broke out at the store on October 14, 2007. When they arrived they found the premises was locked, but managed to get the attention of a shop floor worker who was restocking after closing hours.

On entering the store, firefighters discovered there had been a fire in the staff kitchen which had partly been put out by staff using extinguishers and a fire blanket.

They also found a there still a “significant” amount of smoke in the kitchen, the corridor and staff locker rooms, and fire crews had to ask staff “several times” to evacuate the premises.

The incident led to “concerns about fire safety” within the store, and an inspection of the following day found “a number of breaches of fire legislation” including a failure to review the shop's fire risk assessment.

A London Fire Brigade statement added: “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.”

Tesco subsequently failed the inspection and were prosecuted by the Brigade.

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.”

Sentencing took place at Wood Green Crown Court on Tuesday, and a statement from the supermarket giant said: “"We take safety matters in all of our stores extremely seriously.

“We would like to reassure customers that this was an isolated incident and all issues at this store have been resolved."