Dunedin bar with blocked fire exits to keep licence after safety improvements
Fire and Emergency says so long as The Bog Irish Bar completes and maintains important steps to improve safety at the premises, they are happy for the licensee to continue their business.
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A popular Dunedin bar will not have its liquor licence suspended after locking its fire exits and not opening them when asked to.
Fire and Emergency has withdrawn its application to suspend
The Bog Irish Bar's licence
after a district licensing committee hearing in Dunedin this week.
Last month, a fire inspection found two of the three fire exits were padlocked shut when he visited.
He told staff they needed to be unlocked and contacted Gurbani Club Limited directors - which operates the bar - about the breaches and what they needed to do to comply with fire regulations.
But police found the fire exits were still blocked during a visit later that week.
During the committee meeting, Gurbani Club Limited co-director Karandeep Singh described it as a "profound wake up call" that should not have happened and detailed what they had done to comply.
Fire and Emergency community risk manager James Knapp, who inspected the bar, said the locked exits were a serious risk to people's safety.
"However, it's clear that the licensee has recently taken a number of important steps to improve safety at the premises, including a safer locking system, fire safety signage, and staff training," Knapp said.
"As long as those measures are completed and maintained, we're happy for the licensee to continue their business."
Fire and Emergency would have an opportunity to provide input when The Bog's licence went for renewal later this year, he said.
He reminded businesses to check their own fire exits and evacuation schemes to make sure they were up to scratch.
"Building owners and tenants must make sure people can escape from their buildings if a fire starts, and their employees must be trained to help them get out," Knapp said.
"We're making it a priority to ensure that fire evacuation schemes are in place, and will follow up complaints with inspections if we think there's a cause for concern."
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