Newquay Hotel fire

[grannyclaret]

It said the fire escape was made of wood,,,,that seems dangerous to me ...

[panther]

Originally Posted by grannyclaret

It said the fire escape was made of wood,,,,that seems dangerous to me ...

yes thats right....the daft thing is i dont think that got burnt

[Royboy39]

The incident has been named 'A Major Crime'

BBC NEWS | England | Cornwall | Fatal hotel fire 'a major crime'

[MargaretR]

As a 'PS' to my post #9 - the hotel manager made a tv appearance yesterday - the same manager as when I stayed there.
But to give him some credit - that building was not suitable to be a hotel by todays standards, and most hotels in Newquay are converted Edwardian large houses.

[MargaretR]

I have thought long and hard about what MAY have caused this tragedy.
The police themselves have said that due to the total destruction of the premises, we may never know.

I was a buiding manager for a spell of 8 years. The job is complex, involving building maintenance, security, health, safety, hygiene, furnishings,decor. The building I was responsible for was an office block housing approx 150 workers on 3 floors and a basement. I used to compare it to 'running a hotel with no beds'. (just glad they went home nights )

The manager was having staffing problems, and in job like that, responsible trained staff that jobs can be delegated to is essential, otherwise some things will be overlooked. (even forgetting to order toilet paper can be problematic)
He had 80 people to provide for - mainly elderly and some disabled - and he had to feed them as well! If he himself was untrained and had no mature staff he could delegate to, the job would have been too much to handle and some things would be bound to get neglected.

I anticipate a major problem was a building which was built to house one large family with servants. Putting 80 people in a place built for about 20 max is a recipe for problems. The practice of dividing large rooms into several much smaller rooms using wood partitions is a profit led practice. When that work was done in the past, profit was likely to be the only consideration.

Lifts are essential due to the age of the clientele to be attracted. Where to put them in an Edwardian mansion must have caused problems in itself - not always placed in the safest place. They are a route for fire to upper floors.

Building maintenance - how old was the electrical wiring, and when was it last inspected? If the manager was having difficulty keeping kitchen staff I surmise that he would not have even considered having it done. Perhaps higher management did that sort of thing out of season -hopefully. The window frames were well past their sell by date, so perhaps it wasnt.

When I was there I just got the impression that there was a lot of 'pennypinching'. Heating set at 'frostproof' level and watery fruit juices and such like. Elderly guests still need to be kept warm in all seasons. This summer has been much cooler than most. Maybe one of them bought a cheap heater from a bargain shop to heat their room, which could have overloaded wiring or set fire to bedding.

Another possibility is a discarded cigarette. The smoking ban wasn't in force when I stayed there. You could smoke in their rooms then - maybe still - I am unsure whether hotel rooms are regarded as 'home' for ban purposes, though many hotels operated a no smoking in bedrooms policy before the ban. So maybe ashtrays had been withdrawn from rooms. Some elderly person having dressed for bed and faced with a craving for a cigarette did not consider getting redressed to stand outside at midnight to smoke.

These are just a few possible causes which the scene investigators will be considering, and by being trained professionals they will know more possible causes that we would ever think of.

I remember having such a miserable cold week there, that at the time I would have come home if I had gone in my car, or even moved hotel if cost hadn't been a consideration.

Maybe that it is what this tragedy boils down to - costcutting - we may never know.

The lesson to be learned is dont stay in a hotel if you dont think it is safe

[Margaret Pilkington]

some other considerations that I think should be looked at are:-
*acquainting guests with 'what to do in an Emergency'
I know that on every coach tour I have gone on, the duty manager has come on board the coach and told us about meal times, but I cannot recall once being told of safety or security measures. Yes, I know there are notes on every bedroom door, but you cannot guarantee that they will be read.
I am afraid that most people think that incidents such as this one only happen to 'other people'.
* People who would require assistance in an emergency should be identified....either at the start of the holiday or better still, on the booking form......they should have something to hang outside their room so that they could be sought out and assisted to vacate the building.
* there should be enough staff on duty at night to cover such incidents...especially if the people requiring assistance are identified at the outset.
* Hotels should be required by law to undergo yearly inspections by the fire brigade to make sure the premises meet with all the requirements of a large scale evacuation.......I know the regulations regarding this have just recently changed so that hotels are allowed to monitor their own premises......I fear this is wrong.
* the fire service should be manned properly during the hours of 12mn and 8am.......if what I read in the papers is correct, all the firemen were paged to attend this incident.......and to have two(neighbouring towns) extension vehicles out of commission for repairs and have to rely on bringing an appliance fron Devon is ludicrous.

It is just very fortunate that there was not more loss of life.

I would say to anyone who is staying anywhere other than your own home....familiarise yourself with your surroundings, and plan how you would get out if there was an emergency.
Maybe some good will come out of this accident and maybe other places of residence will look a little more closely at their major incident plans.

[kathleen_firth]

a friend of myn was there from blackburn with her elderley mum i rang her up this morning shes fine though she went two weeeks bk

[MargaretR]

Today's Daily Mail
Three killed in hotel blaze 'were murdered' say police | the Daily Mail

ARSON!!!!!!

[WillowTheWhisp]

I've just been reading about it on the BBC website. I hope they catch whoever is responsible. What on earth possesses someone to do something like that? Maybe they'll have the excuse that they only thought it would be property damage and not cause deaths. They should have realised the terrible consequences.

[MargaretR]

There were reports of a burglary just before the fire started -- or maybe it was a disgruntled former member of staff --- there were plenty of them.

[MargaretR]

It is now one year on and arrests have been made - one of them - the manager
Two quizzed over holiday hotel blaze - News - Accrington Observer

[Loz]

Thats interesting after what you were saying margeret.
Looks like you were on to something regarding the manager.
Lets hope justice is done for those that lost their lives in this tragedy.

[MargaretR]

An arrest doesn't mean he will be charged with any offence.
So we shouldn't jump to conclusions.
He may have been incompetant, but that isn't illegal.

PS negligence might be

[MargaretR]

No charges and no prosecutions - unsolved
BBC NEWS | England | Cornwall | No charges over fatal hotel fire