New County Hotel fire

New County Hotel is a three-star hotel on County Place in central Perth. The hotel had previously had a fire in August 2016. Set off by a malfunctioning dishwasher, guests were evacuated and suffered no injuries. The hotel is managed by the Edwin Hotels Group, which is owned by Rashid Hussain, a British businessman supposedly based in Dubai. Hussain previously owned the Melbourne Ardenlea, a hotel on the Isle of Wight that was shut after an official report stated there was risk of “serious personal injury with the danger of fire, explosion, gas leaks and carbon monoxide”. The audit said that the measures at the time were not substantial enough; they listed 29 issues with the building. Perth…