Cineworld has launched an urgent review after Shaun Rowlands said his 15-year-old son was left frightened during a fire alarm evacuation at the Weston-super-Mare cinema on June 20. The company’s July 25 reply apologised for the lack of clear guidance, communication, and support during the incident.
Rowlands said his son uses a powered wheelchair and has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and learning disabilities. He accused Cineworld of "abandoning" the teenager during the evacuation, turning a routine safety response into a complaint about whether disabled customers can rely on staff in a business emergency.
July 25 email from Cineworld
A Cineworld customer service representative wrote on July 25: "We are very sorry to hear about your son's experience during the evacuation alarm and fully appreciate how distressing and frightening this must have been for both him and his carer." That response matters because it does more than acknowledge the complaint; it accepts that the issue was not only the alarm itself, but the way the evacuation was handled for a disabled teenager and his carer.
The same email added: "We sincerely apologize for the lack of clear guidance, communication, and support provided during the incident." It also said: "We understand why this caused significant anxiety and concern, especially given your son's mobility needs and medical condition."
Refuge room and stairwell concerns
The company went further in its own wording, saying: "It is particularly concerning to hear that they were directed towards a stairwell, received little assistance from staff, were left without information regarding the nature of the alarm, and were unable to contact anyone via the refuge room intercom." Those details narrow the failure point: the complaint is not about a generic evacuation, but about whether staff gave clear direction, maintained contact, and used the refuge-room system as intended.
That leaves the practical question for disabled customers at Cineworld Weston: if a fire alarm sounds, who is supposed to guide them, how are staff meant to communicate from a refuge area, and what happens when that chain breaks? The company’s apology suggests it sees the breakdown as operational, not merely personal.
Cineworld Weston review
The complaint was forwarded in full to the cinema management team for urgent review. Cineworld said: "Please be assured that your feedback has been forwarded in full to the cinema management team for urgent review."
That is the only concrete next step on the record, and it puts the burden back on Cineworld Weston to decide whether staff training, evacuation guidance, or refuge-room communication needs to change. For Rowlands, the immediate issue is simpler and sharper: whether the cinema’s emergency response can protect a disabled teenager without leaving him scared and unsupported again.
