Page 90 - Archived Back Issues

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 of 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
www.firefighterscompany.org.