A Perth hotel that went up in flames on January 2, killing three people, was served with three health and safety warnings from the local council a fortnight before the fatal fire struck. The environmental health report claimed “guests do not feel safe within the hotel during the night”.
The Record understands that Perth and Kinross Council served the notices on the owner of the New County Hotel on December 19 - exactly two weeks before the building caught fire in the early hours of Monday. The fire, which took hold at around 5am in a top-floor bedroom, killed three people and a dog and sent other guests screaming into the streets.
Council safety inspectors had ordered Rashid Hussain to make improvements to the hotel's security, windows, and flooring, as reported by the Courier newspaper. The latest revelations come just a day after it emerged that Scottish Fire and Rescue Service auditors had raised 21 concerns about the New County Hotel's fire safety measures weeks before the fatal blaze.
Environmental health officers at Perth and Kinross Council said that guests were worried for their safety overnight in the hotel because the front door was left unlocked with no "competent" staff on shift overnight. Window restrictors – designed to prevent guests from falling from upper-floor bedrooms – were also not installed on all windows.
This meant that guests could, in theory, open the windows fully onto the street below, putting them at risk of injury. Inspectors also raised concerns with the state of flooring across the hotel, in both communal areas and in guest bedrooms.
The report claimed that guestrooms had uneven floors, stairs had raised carpets that guests could trip on, and loose tape being used as a temporary repair for flooring that had become damaged. Mr Hussain had been given until January 31 to address the issues raised by council officers, though it is not known whether he had begun to act on either the council or the fire service's concerns.
Health and safety improvement notices, such as those served by the council are legally binding, and failing to address them is a criminal offence under the Health and Safety Act.
Perth and Kinross Council declined to comment on the reports, citing the joint police and fire investigation into the cause of the fire. A spokesperson told the Record: "It would not be appropriate for us to comment given the joint investigation."
Rashid Hussain owns the New County Hotel through Edwin Hotels Ltd, while the hotel's business is believed to be conducted via Perth Hospitality Ltd, another company he owns. Both are registered in London, but Hussain himself is believed to live abroad. Emails sent by our reporter to the hotel addressed to Hussain and phone calls to his London-based accountants have gone unanswered to date.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the cause of the fire continues. Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said their enquiries were ongoing.
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