Two consecutive fires in the span of three weeks at the Shell Centre located on York Road, London prompted the London Fire Brigade to carry out an inspection of the premises on the 12^th of January, 2007.

The investigation revealed that fire safety in Shell Tower was practically non-existent. Blocked fire exits and escape routes, malfunctioning fire doors and extreme fire loading were just some of the breaches noted by the Inspecting Officers. Renovation on the upper floors had led to a dramatic increase in fire loading in the Tower.

Following this investigation, Shell International Ltd. was put to trial and fined £300,000 and made to pay costs of £45,000 after it pleaded guilty to having violated the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the RRO). No other fine imposed under the RRO has ever exceeded this figure.

The gaping holes in safety norms were so severe that Shell was put on prohibition notice and the Shell Tower and basement was cut off from use. Neither employees nor the public was allowed access to the premises till the breaches were remedied. A second inspection on 15^th January found the problems corrected and the prohibition notice was lifted and the building opened for use. Ensure your organisation is aware of its responsibilities for fire safety; click on fire risk assessment training from Workplace Law.

Shell’s fire risk assessment was last done in March 2003 though standards require that a risk assessment be done on an average once a year. This last evaluation had in fact highlighted some of the same failings which were noted in the 2007 inspection. However, Shell ignored the assessment and carried on as before, leading to the worsening of the fire safety systems over the span of more than three years.

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