THE Chester Enterprise Centre did not have smoke or heat detectors, sprinklers or an automatic fire alarm system, Cheshire Fire and Rescue has revealed.
The building, which was home to about 50 businesses, was engulfed in flames on the morning of Thursday, December 2.
Business owners have discovered that their computer systems went down not long after midnight on that Thursday morning and the fire crews were called out at 3.40am.
They believe the fire started much earlier than was first thought.
A Cheshire Fire and Rescue spokesman said: “There was a break glass call point for the alarm system in the building. There is no legal requirement for buildings of this type to have smoke detectors or automatic fire alarm systems.”
Mark Spencer, who was a tenant at Chester Enterprise Centre said: “If this is the case this is a faulty concept really.
“To have been so strict about so many aspects of security and health and safety, including testing the fire alarm every week, and installing really good CCTV, it seems silly that they only had a break glass fire system.”
Helen Conway, of Body-Pilates, who was also based in the centre, added: “It is absolutely outrageous. There was in effect no fire protection during the night because the council didn’t pay for a 24 hour security guard, and we didn’t know about it. ”
A spokesman for Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “The fire alarm system installed, inherited with the building, was regularly tested every week and consisted of break glass points and sounders, connected to an externally monitored system.
“The same system was maintained and serviced on a quarterly basis by contractors and its aim was to evacuate people in the building as quickly as possible in the event of a fire.
“Smoke detectors would not have been heard at night, when the building was closed. A sprinkler system in such an old building would have cost tens of thousands of pounds to install and our main aim would always be to save lives.”
