Rockhampton Plaza Hotel, Chang Holdings, charged with 16 offences relating to fire safety

Inspections were carried out at a Rockhampton hotel by QFES on multiple occasions in 2021. Now, the company that owns the property has been hit with a long list of charges. Full details.

The owner of Rockhampton Plaza Hotel is back before the courts again, just six months after his recent civil case was settled.

Chang Holdings, the company which owns and operates the troubled hotel on George Street, has been charged with 16 offences related to fire safety.

The charges were filed by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and were in relation to inspections carried out on the George Street, Rockhampton property on four dates in 2021.

The charges allege Chang Holdings and Mr Hsu-Hui Chang, an executive officer of Chang Holdings, failed to take all reasonable steps to ensure Chang Holdings did not breach the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 by failing to maintain at all times a prescribed fire installation in the building to a standard of safety and reliability in the event of fire, namely fire doors, penetrations through fire resistant construction, fire extinguishers, fire hose reels, exit lighting and exit signage.

Under the Act, authorised fire officers are given the power to enter any premises to investigate where or not fire safety measures and fire prevention measures, including the implementation of a fire safety management plan, have been undertaken or are being maintained.

Documents filed with the court viewed by this publication outlined the charge details.

The first date of the charges was on February 19, 2021 for three counts of fail to maintain prescribed fire safety installation, one of occupier not to allow final exit of adjoining building to be obstructed (restaurant building) and one of evacuation signs and diagrams to be displayed.

In relation to the obstruction, it is alleged there were brooms and a bucket in the immediate vicinity of a fire exit.

The other charges were in respect to evacuation signs and exit signage, and some of the fire doors being in a “state of collapse” and difficult to open.

On May 5, 2021, there was one count of evacuation signs and diagrams to be displayed and three of failure to maintain prescribed fire safety installation.

It is alleged there was a rubbish bin hindering the evacuation route of the building and the subject signs did not contain the correct evacuation procedures to be followed.

A fire door on level three was allegedly jammed shut and could not be opened.

Penetrations through fire resistant construction by cabling, conduits and pipework were found on levels 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the building, the court documents alleged.

There was also one charge of fail to comply with requisition, direction, notification or notice, which was for a failure to comply with notice by the Commissioner.

On another visit on June 14, 2021, the company was charged again with four counts of fail to main prescribed fire safety installation, one charge of evacuation signs and diagrams to be displayed, the court documents state.

It is alleged various fire doors on all seven levels of the hotel and in the restaurant building were delaminated and/or self closers were broken and inoperative and/or not fitted with a self closer or non-compliant hardware.

Another fire door on level five was jammed in its frame and difficult to open, the court documents allege.

Exit lights on all seven levels, and in the plant room and in the restaurant main entry and kitchen were not illuminated and were inoperative.

It was further allegedly discovered on this date, the fire hose reel did not have operating instructions attached and the last maintenance test was in February 2020.

A final charge was listed on July 22, 2021, for one count of fail to maintain prescribed fire safety installation.

The property was built in 1978 and was once a four-star international tourist hotel.

Sitting on a 4,042 sqm block of land, the hotel is seven storeys high, has 72 rooms and a separate 200-seat poolside restaurant and conference hall.

The hotel was bought by Chang Holdings in 1996 for $3 million.

It was managed by other leasees for some time before it closed in 2014, and was open on and off until around late 2015.

3D images of the 36-storey "Rockhampton Tower".

In 2019, the director James Chang, revealed plans for a $1.6 billion, 38 story high-rise building which would include apartment hotels, a school, gymnasium, hotel management college, a five level (4,000 sqm each) shopping centre, a 1600 sqm rooftop restaurant and entertainment venues.

Rockhampton Regional Council took Mr Chang to court in civil proceedings in 2021 for unpaid rates of $207,008.05, which he had accumulated over four periods.

Mr Chang fought the claims and applied to the Queen to declare the property as a micronation but ultimately lost and was ordered to pay council the outstanding rates plus legal and interest costs.

The hotel is understood to be under new management again, as a new social media page has been created for the property, using new business name 161 on George Hotel International.

Posts detailing renovations and cleaning have been shared and state the hotel would be reopening again soon with short and long term accommodation and a Filipino Australian restaurant.

No plea has been entered at this stage in relation to the fire safety related charges.

The matter will be heard again in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on May 31.