Salamander Archives

Cover Story

Very few people are aware of the impact

that the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety)

Order 2005 has had upon employers, owners and occupied

buildings, especially here in the City of London. Even fewer

are aware of the meaning, interpretation and likely conse-

quences of the Order.

A successful prosecution for failure to maintain fire safety

standards can result in a substantial fine and/or imprison-

ment. For example :--

New Look retail store fire, London 2007 - £536,000 fines & costs;

Tesco store London, fire safety breaches, April 2010 - £95,000 fines & costs

Shell International, London, fire safety breaches, June 2009 - £200,000 fines & costs

Residential (multi-occupancy) fire, Norwich April 2009 – 2.5 year prison sentence for the landlord plus

£20,000 costs

Averard Hotel, London, fire safety breaches - £21,000 fines & costs.

The list goes on and on.

The WCoFF has engaged two nationally prominent specialists in fire law -

Ann Rosemarie Everton

LL.M PhD FIFire, Barrister-at-Law, Emeritus Professor of Fire Law at the Central University of Lan-

cashire and

David Stotesbury

LL.B MA, specialist in fire law, practicing independent barrister in

Lauderdale Chambers in the Barbican, to examine the

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

at an inaugural lecture to be held at the Insurance Hall during the evening of the 5th April 2011.

Alderman Michael Bear, Lord Mayor of the City of London will make the opening address and

comment on the importance of the Order on City businesses. He will be joined by Past Master Sir Ken

Knight CBE QFSM DL, HM Government Chief Fire & Rescue Adviser

and Iain Cox, CFO of Royal

Berkshire FRS and Head of the Prevention & Protection Directorate of the Chief Fire Officers‘ Asso-

ciation for question time. Parliamentary demands permitting, Robert Neill MP the Parliamentary Under

Secretary of State

responsible for Fire & Resilience will make the closing address.

The participation of such notably worthy and prominent peo-

ple will make this a prestigious occasion for the Company. We

are also indebted to the

Fire Protection Association

for their

financial support for this, our inaugural City lecture.

Each delegate attending will receive a presentation folder con-

taining a set of the speakers‘ notes. CPD credits will be avail-

able to delegates who are members of the Institution of Fire

Engineers, the Emergency Planning Society, the Chartered

Insurance Institute and the Institute of Risk Management.

The lecture will commence at 6.30pm and close by 9.00pm

with a canapé reception. The price of a ticket for the lecture is

£30 inc.VAT and a promotion notice and a booking form for

the lecture can be found on the Company‘s website at