Newquay Hotel fire
 

That Penhallow Hotel is owned by Robinsons coaches of Gt Harwood and so there are likely to be people from this area there. I went on a coach trip to it myself a couple of years ago.
I didn't like the hotel and have not been there since. (Their Abbey Lawn Hotel in Torquay is by far a better standard.)
People who go on Robinsons coach trips are mainly retired and from the north west (many from Hyndburn area)
I just hope that no one I know is there right now.
BBC NEWS | England | Cornwall | One dies in fire at resort hotel

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The BBc news is saying the hotel group is named Houldsworth hotels - true - but owned by Robinsons
Robinsons Holidays - Online Coach Holidays for 2007

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Does it really matter who is it owned by?, i only hope that they find the missing people and that the ones who are injured get better soon.
As for the family of the person who died, my sincere condolences

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I just wanted to stress that people from our area are likely to be there

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That's very tragic Margaret. Yes, my Mum and Dad used to go on their tours, long time ago though, and always enjoyed them very much. There are likely to be people from the North West. Hotel fire regulations are extremely strict now, so must have been something really 'heavy' to cause such a blaze.

How sad.

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It was a very old building. The floorboards creaked everywhere. There were wooden sash windows and wood partitioned rooms. The room I had was on the side, top floor and was a very poky single. It was in the part which has totally collapsed.The sash window was rather stiff to open. I am glad I was not there last night. I doubt that I could have got out from my room. When I was there I would describe it as 'shabby'. It is so very tragic that many of the people who go there are elderly disabled and would have been struggling using fire escapes and stairs.
Because I have been there I have been very shocked by what has happened

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Showing on sky news the diggers going in to be demolished..just hope the missing people all come forward and are safe

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I have been on Robinsons Tours too, though never to this particular hotel.

I was with my Mum in Shanklin earlier this year. it was a tour that was mainly populated by the older people....some deaf and one man totally blind and on his own...... afew days into the holiday the fire alarm was activated in the very early hours of the morning......we were on the second floor despite the fact that Ma uses a wheel chair........I got Ma and the blind gentleman downstairs and to the assembly point, to find that we were the only guests who had got out of bed....there were 3 staff and the duty manager. The fire brigade came and told us we could all go back to bed.
The alarm went off twice more and we followed the same procedure.
When we got down to breakfast the following morning and mentioned that we had been up 3 times for the fire alarm......many of the elderly guests had taken sleeping pills and had not heard any of the alarms and the ones that did, said that because they couldn't smell smoke or see any evidence of fire, they stayed in bed. I do believe that at the start of a holiday the hotel staff should tell guests what to do if they hear the alarm...and find out which guests need assistance in case of an incident. These guests should then have something like a 'do not disturb sign'....but with some sign that indicates that they require assistance in the case of an emergency....to hang on the door knob outside their room. I know that all rooms have a note on the back of the door about what to do in a fire.......but how many people think it is something that only happens to other people?

Having worked in hospital and been a fire warden I could never ignore the fire alarm, and call me boring, but where ever we go I mentally plan an escape route should there ever be a need to use it.....this was something that was drummed into me by the fire officer at the hospital (thanks Phil)...it is even more important to me with having to help Ma.

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I am waiting for the appearance of the manager on TV. The manager may have changed since my visit 2 years ago. The manager who was there during my stay was having problems. Dinner was very late being served one evening because some staff had walked out. I was sat reading in the lounge one day and the managers office was in the corner of the lounge. On two occasions I overheard staff in there arguing with him. I dont think he had benefited from a 'man management' training course. Most of the staff appeared to be students/under 21. During my stay he had a visit from 2 senior management, and rumours went round that he was having problems.
It was a most unpleasant trip because the heating was set so low that it was barely felt, and was only on in the evenings. It was February - I needed to go to bed fully dressed in order to keep warm.
If this fire is found to be due to management negligence I will not be at all surprised

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You have a good point Margaret re. deaf people and sleeping tablets,etc., although there are fire alarms available for the deaf .. not sure what facilities hotels make for this disability.

I have stayed in 100's of hotels throughout the U.K. and was amazed how many people ignored the alarm to join me in my pyjamas or dripping wet hair .. young executives were high on the list. Anyway, hope our thread is read by a few who at least who will take heed in future.

Just hope not too many fatalities come to light here, or badly injured people.

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I know my Ma is disabled, but she can get a wriggle on when the fire alarm goes.........and once in Llandudno was making very poor progress down the stairs so got onto the banister (don't ask me how) and slid down to the bottom.
The waiters at that hotel still talk about the burnt bacon! (that was what the night porter was cooking for his early morning snack, that set off the alarm).

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Katex, there are an awful lot of older folk who are deaf but don't admit it...wear these really tine hearing aids and take them out at night....so I guess they would not be keen to own up to this disability...I'd prefer to own up than be fried!

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any word yet, as to if any local families have been affected by the hotel fire .
Robinsons have been a good company going back over the years , part and parcel of Gt.Harwood

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I haven't heard anything about any local people being involved.
The story broke too late to be in the Telegraph...it will be Monday before it appears there.....and there still is not much more info on the news channels.
Just one man died.......according to Yahoo fell/jumped from an upper storey of the hotel.....no news of the missing 6 people.

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I hope they found the other ones that was missing,let hope so.

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It said the fire escape was made of wood,,,,:confused:that seems dangerous to me ...

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yes thats right....the daft thing is i dont think that got burnt

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The incident has been named 'A Major Crime'

BBC NEWS | England | Cornwall | Fatal hotel fire 'a major crime'

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As a 'PS' to my post #9 - the hotel manager made a tv appearance yesterday - the same manager as when I stayed there.
But to give him some credit - that building was not suitable to be a hotel by todays standards, and most hotels in Newquay are converted Edwardian large houses.

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I have thought long and hard about what MAY have caused this tragedy.
The police themselves have said that due to the total destruction of the premises, we may never know.

I was a buiding manager for a spell of 8 years. The job is complex, involving building maintenance, security, health, safety, hygiene, furnishings,decor. The building I was responsible for was an office block housing approx 150 workers on 3 floors and a basement. I used to compare it to 'running a hotel with no beds'. (just glad they went home nights :))

The manager was having staffing problems, and in job like that, responsible trained staff that jobs can be delegated to is essential, otherwise some things will be overlooked. (even forgetting to order toilet paper can be problematic)
He had 80 people to provide for - mainly elderly and some disabled - and he had to feed them as well! If he himself was untrained and had no mature staff he could delegate to, the job would have been too much to handle and some things would be bound to get neglected.

I anticipate a major problem was a building which was built to house one large family with servants. Putting 80 people in a place built for about 20 max is a recipe for problems. The practice of dividing large rooms into several much smaller rooms using wood partitions is a profit led practice. When that work was done in the past, profit was likely to be the only consideration.

Lifts are essential due to the age of the clientele to be attracted. Where to put them in an Edwardian mansion must have caused problems in itself - not always placed in the safest place. They are a route for fire to upper floors.

Building maintenance - how old was the electrical wiring, and when was it last inspected? If the manager was having difficulty keeping kitchen staff I surmise that he would not have even considered having it done. Perhaps higher management did that sort of thing out of season -hopefully. The window frames were well past their sell by date, so perhaps it wasnt.

When I was there I just got the impression that there was a lot of 'pennypinching'. Heating set at 'frostproof' level and watery fruit juices and such like. Elderly guests still need to be kept warm in all seasons. This summer has been much cooler than most. Maybe one of them bought a cheap heater from a bargain shop to heat their room, which could have overloaded wiring or set fire to bedding.

Another possibility is a discarded cigarette. The smoking ban wasn't in force when I stayed there. You could smoke in their rooms then - maybe still - I am unsure whether hotel rooms are regarded as 'home' for ban purposes, though many hotels operated a no smoking in bedrooms policy before the ban. So maybe ashtrays had been withdrawn from rooms. Some elderly person having dressed for bed and faced with a craving for a cigarette did not consider getting redressed to stand outside at midnight to smoke.

These are just a few possible causes which the scene investigators will be considering, and by being trained professionals they will know more possible causes that we would ever think of.

I remember having such a miserable cold week there, that at the time I would have come home if I had gone in my car, or even moved hotel if cost hadn't been a consideration.

Maybe that it is what this tragedy boils down to - costcutting - we may never know.

The lesson to be learned is dont stay in a hotel if you dont think it is safe

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some other considerations that I think should be looked at are:-
*acquainting guests with 'what to do in an Emergency'
I know that on every coach tour I have gone on, the duty manager has come on board the coach and told us about meal times, but I cannot recall once being told of safety or security measures. Yes, I know there are notes on every bedroom door, but you cannot guarantee that they will be read.
I am afraid that most people think that incidents such as this one only happen to 'other people'.
* People who would require assistance in an emergency should be identified....either at the start of the holiday or better still, on the booking form......they should have something to hang outside their room so that they could be sought out and assisted to vacate the building.
* there should be enough staff on duty at night to cover such incidents...especially if the people requiring assistance are identified at the outset.
* Hotels should be required by law to undergo yearly inspections by the fire brigade to make sure the premises meet with all the requirements of a large scale evacuation.......I know the regulations regarding this have just recently changed so that hotels are allowed to monitor their own premises......I fear this is wrong.
* the fire service should be manned properly during the hours of 12mn and 8am.......if what I read in the papers is correct, all the firemen were paged to attend this incident.......and to have two(neighbouring towns) extension vehicles out of commission for repairs and have to rely on bringing an appliance fron Devon is ludicrous.

It is just very fortunate that there was not more loss of life.

I would say to anyone who is staying anywhere other than your own home....familiarise yourself with your surroundings, and plan how you would get out if there was an emergency.
Maybe some good will come out of this accident and maybe other places of residence will look a little more closely at their major incident plans.

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a friend of myn was there from blackburn with her elderley mum i rang her up this morning shes fine though she went two weeeks bk

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Today's Daily Mail
Three killed in hotel blaze 'were murdered' say police | the Daily Mail

ARSON!!!!!!

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I've just been reading about it on the BBC website. I hope they catch whoever is responsible. What on earth possesses someone to do something like that? Maybe they'll have the excuse that they only thought it would be property damage and not cause deaths. They should have realised the terrible consequences. :(

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There were reports of a burglary just before the fire started -- or maybe it was a disgruntled former member of staff --- there were plenty of them.

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It is now one year on and arrests have been made - one of them - the manager
Two quizzed over holiday hotel blaze - News - Accrington Observer

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Thats interesting after what you were saying margeret.
Looks like you were on to something regarding the manager.
Lets hope justice is done for those that lost their lives in this tragedy.

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An arrest doesn't mean he will be charged with any offence.
So we shouldn't jump to conclusions.
He may have been incompetant, but that isn't illegal.

PS negligence might be:confused:

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No charges and no prosecutions - unsolved
BBC NEWS | England | Cornwall | No charges over fatal hotel fire