It was revealed earlier this week Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) had lodged an application to have the The Bog Irish Bar’s liquor licence suspended after an inspector discovered two of its three ground-floor fire exits were "pad-bolted and locked".
Earlier this week, co-owner Karandeep Singh told the Otago Daily Times reports of the fire exits being padlocked were "a little bit over-exaggerated".
"There was no padlock," he said.
"I mean there was just a latch ... "
But photos since obtained by the ODT confirm at least one of the pub’s exits was padlocked.
A patron, who agreed to be interviewed on the condition of anonymity, said they noticed the padlock while at the pub and identified the door as a fire exit.
This "horrified" them, so they photographed the padlock and contacted the Dunedin City Council.
They said the photos were taken on April 25 — days before a fire safety inspection was conducted on April 29, and a police visit on May 2.
Once it emerged in the inspector’s suspension application that a total of two fire exits had been locked, the patron said their "jaw was on the floor" and they were pleased they had brought it to the council’s attention.
"At first I felt a little bit guilty, because it was sort of narking and the likes.
"The second the actual report came out, it was like, well, thank God, because this has prevented an absolute disaster from happening."
The inspector’s findings made their heart sink.
"You’ve got a room full of drunk people, staff that don’t know how to handle that situation and then no way to get out.
"You’re asking for dozens of people to be killed in a fire if anything was to happen."
When they later read Mr Singh had disputed the padlock claim, the patron said they were "very angry".
"My blood boiled. How are you going to make those statements in a public forum when there’s photographic evidence?
"I think he was trying to put seeds of doubt in the public’s mind, that the claims weren’t as serious as the [inspector] might have suggested."
Mr Singh said yesterday he understood the photos in question were taken "when we were closing the bar".
"We have already complied with fire safety guidelines by changing the locks, and a member of the [district licensing] committee has visited the site and conducted an inspection."
Fenz had also inspected the premises and the pub had its own "evidence and photos" demonstrating the site was fully compliant with all fire safety requirements, he said.
A Fenz spokesperson said Fenz was not able to comment before a district licensing committee hearing on the suspension application had concluded.
The hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday.
