Safety citations land George Street bars in court
Last Updated: Monday, June 19, 2006 | 8:30 AM NT
CBC News
The City of St. John's is taking several clubs on the well-known George Street strip to court for ignoring orders to fix safety violations.
The city, which has been conducting joint inspections with the St. John's regional fire department for about a year, said it's going to court to protect public safety.
"You are talking about a place of public assembly, so life safety is a core issue," said David Blackmore, city hall's director of building management.
David Blackmore says the City of St. John's was compelled to act on unfixed fire safety issues at several George Street bars. (CBC)
"We are certainly serious about it."
Five bars — Trapper John's, Jungle Jim's, Normies, the Cotton Club and Green Sleeves — were found to have a range of deficiencies, and given 30 days to fix them.
The violations included:
- Doors and walls that don't satisfy fire code requirements.
- A lack of clear exit paths during an emergency.
- Improperly located propane tanks.
- Portable fire extinguishers that weren't properly inspected and serviced.
Fines for each violation can be as much as $5,000.
Blackmore said the problems are serious, but the city doesn't see immediate fire risks. Otherwise, authorities would move to close the bars down.
"With these particular cases, I wouldn't have any immediate alarm at this point in time. But again, if we don't see any action, then we are going to take a heavier position in this."
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