Derby Landlord fined £50,000 and a further £23,000 in costs, plus two year suspended jail sentence for breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The Why?
Fire Safety within buildings, let and occupied by the general public, have never been under more scrutiny by Local Authority and Fire Service Inspectors than they are today.
The tragic events witnessed at Grenfell Tower in June 2017, and the public backlash towards the government and Fire Services that followed, has given those in charge of UK Fire Standards the support they needed to firmly enforce breaches in Fire Safety.
Rented flats and Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO’s) have come under closer and more vigorous inspection to address the safety of those living in such buildings.
Attending officers to any fire, small or large, casualties or not, are now actively seeking prosecution of those offending and failing to comply with current UK Fire Legislation.
The Case
Responding to the fire, which started in a flat on the top floor of the converted building, firefighters discovered some fire doors had no self-closers or smoke seals, the kitchen door did not close due to a lack of maintenance and the fire alarm was not working. There was no evidence of a fire risk assessment and fire extinguishers were out of test date.
In addition, they also found that the landlord had failed to provide tenants with any means of escape and the emergency lighting was not in working order.
The owner and landlord of the flats appeared at Derby Crown Court on 5 July to be sentenced for several breaches of fire safety regulations to which he pleaded guilty at Derby Magistrates Court on the 7 June 2021.
The Solution
A Simple Fire Risk Assessment by a Green Tree Safety Safety and follow up action to remedy the breaches would have resolved all these issues and for a fraction of the cost of the fines incurred.
Also the tenants and Landlord could sleep soundly knowing that Fire Safety within their building was being addressed.
Had an injury or fatality occurred it is likely that a suspended sentence would have been a longer custodial one.
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