School body fined £8,000 following ‘serious failings’ in fire safety

01/10/2009

Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority has successfully prosecuted the governing body of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Chalfont St Peter for breaching fire safety regulations. The governing body was fined £2,250 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £5,750.

Several articles pertaining to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 were breached, including failure to take general fire precautions, failure to adequately implement the findings of a fire risk assessment, and failure to appoint fire wardens.

Commenting on the case, the District Judge at Wycombe Magistrates Court said the breaches reflected ‘serious failings by the school' and stressed that no action had been taken by the body over a number of months to improve fire safety standards at the school.

The prosecution was brought in the interests of public safety because the breaches placed children and teachers in the school at serious risk. It is hoped that the case will remind governors, head teachers and those in charge of schools that all reasonable steps must be taken to maintain the safety of all children from fire