The Bog Irish Bar co-owner Karandeep Singh offered his ‘‘deepest apologies’’ to Dunedin’s district licensing committee at a hearing today.
The issues involving the non-compliant fire exits had been a ‘‘profound wake-up call’’, Mr Singh said.
‘‘This should have never happened, and we are truly sorry for the concern and disappointment it has caused.
‘‘The safety of our guests and team is our highest priority, and we take full responsibility for this failure.’’
The incident had made it clear their protocols were ‘‘not properly enforced’’, he said.
‘‘The manager responsible for this oversight has been temporarily relieved of general manager duties for three months as a direct consequence . . . we will be getting him retrained properly in terms of fire safety and everything.’’
But Mr Singh later told the committee this staff member would still be working at the premises ‘‘under supervision’’.
The application to suspend pub’s liquor licence was lodged by Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) after a fire safety inspector discovered two of the pub’s three ground-floor fire exits were ‘‘pad-bolted and locked’’ while the premises was open for business.
A subsequent visit by police days later found the exits were still locked.
Mr Singh said the locks on the door to George St had been replaced with compliant fire safety mechanisms and he had spoken with the landlord about getting suitable mechanisms for ‘‘each and every’’ door.
His holding company, Gurbani Club Ltd, had acquired the business in August 2024.
They found the front door had ‘‘more locks’’ they had needed to remove themselves.
It was ‘‘negligence on the staff side’’ as to why the doors were still locked when police visited, Mr Singh said.
He told the committee he had until recently been in India for an ear surgery, but cut the trip short to return and address the situation in person.
Fenz community risk manager James Knapp said his fire safety inspection, in late April, was prompted by information received by the Dunedin City Council’s chief licensing inspector from a member of the public, which was shared with Fenz in the interest of public safety.
‘‘The informant included a photo of a pad-bolted and padlocked gate with information that the gate is a fire escape path.’’
A temporary duty manager at the premises told him they had been working at the pub for about a month and had not yet received any training or information about its fire evacuation procedure, he said.
‘‘They told me they have had problems with underage persons entering via the garden bar and they only have one crowd controller on at nights, which was his explanation for locking the gate.’’
But insufficient crowd control was ‘‘not a reasonable justification for locking a fire escape’’, he said.
As he was dropping off a hard copy of the suspension application to the pub, on May 13, Mr Knapp said he again found the George St exit to be locked and with night latches engaged.
He reminded the duty manager these needed to be disengaged during opening hours and only secured with a deadbolt.
‘‘They replied that the door is locked to stop underage patrons from entering the bar area because the staff do not check ID at the bar when a crowd controller is on the main door.’’
He later observed a trial evacuation, without any customers present, which was twice satisfactorily completed by five staff members.
On a second joint visit, on May 17, he and police observed all exits were available but the path out onto George St was partially blocked by a table and chairs — which could have been moved there by patrons, he said.
‘‘During our visit, we noted several incidents of concerning patron behaviour and, in my opinion, inadequate crowd control, which causes doubt as to the respondents' ability to conduct a safe, prompt and efficient evacuation during times of high occupancy.’’
Other than this partial obstruction, Mr Knapp said the pub had been made compliant with health and safety requirements.
Committee secretary Kevin Mechen said it was an ‘‘unusual application’’ for the committee to deal with.
‘‘It is definitely a safety concern... patron safety is of prime importance for the committee.’’
Committee chairman Colin Weatherall said he was ‘‘unforgiving about health and safety’’.
‘‘Health and safety is a non-debatable matter.’’
Medical Officer of Health delegate Aaron Whipp said Fenz’s findings were concerning.
Hearing that underage minors were getting into the premises supported concerns the pub did not have adequate staff systems and training in place, he said.
Licensing inspector Alison Blair said the safety of patrons and staff were a ‘‘concern for us all’’.
‘‘As is the potential for underage people to enter the premises.’’
In his closing remarks, Mr Knapp said suspending the pub’s licence ‘‘may no longer be necessary’’ given the respondent’s efforts to date.
He suggested the respondent be made to pass a successful reinspection before the licence’s renewal date, and submit a trial evacuation or staff training report.
