A church hall is of standard concrete block, rendered, throughout. It has little in the way of fire load and apart from arson and perhaps an electrical fault, it is difficult to imagine how a fire would start let alone be propagated and sustained. The hall is one single room with toilets. Escape doors are provided direct to the outside. The hall accommodates circa 200 and has a fairly large volume with vaulted ceiling.
The internal block walls of the hall have been painted before, however, there is no evidence of paint build-up. The painters were half way through applying an emulsion paint when they were stopped. The hall holds an entertainment licence and the officer has demanded proof that the paint application is Class 1. I acknowledge the requirement but is this OTT?
