Perth Hotel Hit with Council Warnings Fortnight before Three Died in Fire as Guests ‘Didn’t feel safe’

Richard Wilkins/Reach PLC

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.

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Source: Daily Record