Stromness Hotel in Orkney shut down by fire service day after elderly man falls down lift shaft

A hotel in Orkney was shut down the day after an elderly man fell down a lift shaft.

Police received a report on Friday, July 26 after 6.30pm of an 83-year-old man injured after falling down an elevator shaft at the Stromness Hotel on Victoria Street in the village of Stromness.

He was taken to hospital and the Health and Safety Executive informed.

The hotel announced on Monday evening it was “forced to close” after being hit with a prohibition notice by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The notice is said to be separate to the incident involving the 83-year-old man after “a number of fire safety deficiencies” were previously identified.

David McGroarty, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s Group Commander for Orkney said: “I can confirm that a prohibition notice was issued to the owners of The Stromness Hotel in Orkney on Saturday, July 27 in line with the provisions of section 63 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005. This notice prohibits the full use of the premise with immediate effect.

“A prohibition notice is a legally-binding document which requires full compliance. It will remain in effect until all matters giving rise to the risk posed by the premises are rectified.

“This follows more than two years of engagement with hotel management and the building’s duty holder in relation to a number of fire safety deficiencies which had previously been identified.

“We remain in contact with the building’s duty holder and our local authority partners to discuss next steps and to ensure safety of all relevant persons.”

Na’ím Anís Paymán, owner of the hotel, said all staff and guests were forced to vacate the premises after it was shut down.

In a statement to STV News, the owner said: “We had an agreed action plan with a member of the Fire Department on ongoing works to ensure full compliance of the building.

“Most of these works have been completed, and we have been in continuous communication with the representative who was happy with the progress being made with regards to an outstanding point on repairs or replacement to the emergency stairs, which were also being worked on over the last few months.

“On Saturday we received a surprise visit by another officer, who decided to shut the entire property down.

“We were under the impression that this could be appealed, as noted on the Prohibition Notice, however it seems that this is not the case, despite what it stated on the notice.

“As a result, we’ve had to ask all staff and guests to vacate the hotel.

“As this was served as an out-of-hours notice, we don’t know the full details of what they want us to do to be able to open, and they have refused to provide details for the time being.

“We are trying our best to support guests and staff at this very difficult time, and find a way of reopening as soon as possible.”

A statement on Facebook from the hotel read: “Unfortunately we have been forced to close The Stromness Hotel.

“As we do not yet know the full details for the reason behind the closure or what an acceptable course of action would entail to reopen, we are unable to provide a timeline for this.

“As a result, we would appreciate any assistance to host the guests that we are unable to cater to over the coming weeks.

“If you have a room and are able to host someone booked to stay with us, please complete our form by clicking on the link below.”

The Scottish Ambulance Service has been contacted for comment.