“Potential death-trap” hotel put thousands of lives at risk

The owner of a “potential death-trap” hotel in Hull has been convicted for fire safety regulations which put thousands of lives at risk. 

After four months of court proceedings, a nine-month suspended prison sentence, a £50,000 fine and £15,000 worth of court costs was handed to the owner of the Gilson Hotel in Hull city centre, after the hotel was found to be operating without a fully functioning fire alarm.

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) first visited the hotel in September 2012 where it found numerous breaches of fire safety regulations. A Prohibition Notice was issued to close the hotel until improvements were made.

Further Enforcement Notices were handed out to improve the fire standards of the whole premises. HFRS said that although these notices were complied with, it was apparent that the hotel had been operating without a fully functioning fire alarm system meaning a potential fire would not have been discovered until the later stages, delaying the evacuation of guests.

Sentencing at Hull Crown Court yesterday (April 13), Jeremy Richardson QC said the “paramount concern of anyone who runs this type of business must be the safety of staff and guests.”

Richardson referred to the “lamentable lapses” in fire safety over a long period of time by the owner and a “dereliction of responsibility” when it came to bringing the hotel up to an acceptable standard.

In his closing sentencing statement, the judge said ‘the breaches could only be categorised as “very serious” and as any “fire could not have been contained”, he classed the Gilson Hotel as a “potential death-trap.”

Martin Peers, station manager of the HFRS technical fire safety team, said: “During this investigation, it is estimated that between 7,000 and 14,000 lives were put at risk at the Gilson Hotel. It is chilling to imagine the outcome of any serious fire which may have broken out in this building.”

HFRS has urged all businesses to review their Fire Risk Assessments and their fire safety measures, ensuring that they are maintaining these systems and recording them.