A recent incident in a Yorkshire public house has acted as a sober reminder for owners of all licensed premises to take the matter of fire safety very seriously. A fire and subsequent explosion saw over two hundred people evacuated from the pub.
During an investigation by local fire authorities afterwards, a number of fire safety regulations were found to have been breached. Directors of the company that owns the pub received heavy fines and suspended prison sentences.
Fortunately, thanks to the quick work of the local fire authority, nobody was seriously hurt during the emergency. However, the whole incident simply serves to highlight the fact that the issue of fire safety is rarely covered by licences these days. In many cases, fire safety in licensed premises is left in the hands of the individual manager in question.
