53 die in Shanghai apartment blaze
A fire in a 28 storey apartment block in Shanghai, China, has killed 53 people and injured dozens more.
The blaze was thought to have started by people carrying out unlicensed welding within the building. More than 100 fire engines tackled the fire and it took over four hours to contain.
Four people have been arrested for causing the fire.
Yorkshire landlord pleads guilty to eight fire safety violations
A North Yorkshire landlord has pleaded guilty to a series of fire safety breaches at his property in Scarborough.
Mr Banki was reported to the authorities after North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service found that the property he owned had insufficient fire exits, alarms and emergency lighting.
Prosecuting officer, Karen Galloway said, “The contraventions in this case were serious and would have continued had the fire authority and Scarborough Borough Council not acted immediately by serving a prohibition notice on the Responsible Person.”
Lazlo Banki is due to appear at York Crown Court next month for sentencing.
Reading landlady fined £60,000
A Reading Landlady has been fined £60,000 for health, safety and fire regulation breaches.
Millicent Okumo rented the property to a group of immigrants, charging £700 per month. The property in London Road, Katesgrove was visited by environmental health inspectors who deemed the property virtually uninhabitable. They also discovered that there were no working fire alarms in the property. Mrs Okumo had been asked to improve the property in the past but has failed to carry out the necessary work.
A representative for Reading Borough Council said “This shocking case shows that some landlords in our town are still failing to live up to their responsibilities in this regard. This is wholly unacceptable and these landlords need to know that if this happens action will be taken by this council against them.”
Mrs Okumo did not turn up for her court hearing is now thought to be on the run from the authorities.
£50,000 fine for ‘Death Trap’ store
Poundstretcher Ltd has pleaded guilty to serious fire safety breaches at its Huddersfield store.
A fire safety inspector found that the store was putting its staff and customers at serious risk of injury or death due to a catalogue of safety failings at the store.
Inspectors discovered that only one fire exit was in use, but was not working properly and could actually have trapped them inside the building rather than helping them escape. Other exits that were not in use were blocked by large amounts of combustible material.
Before the failings were discovered, a risk assessment had been carried out and recommendations had been made but were not actioned at the store.
The Company has been fined £50,000 for the breaches. In the past 18 months it has also had to pay out over £20,000 for failings at other stores in Wakefield and Halifax.
The Company accepted responsibility and immediately set about rectifying all of the issues. Poundstretcher company secretary, Martin Collinson said, “We note the comments of the judge and we have to take what he said very seriously”.
Birmingham high-rise fire safety failings
A report by the BBC has highlighted serious fire safety breaches in most of Birmingham’s tower blocks.
Even recently refurbished Bakeman House has failed to comply with the fire safety standards especially in common areas of the building. Many other high rise flats where deemed out-dated and run down.
The City Council confirm that it has planned fire safety work in many of its tower blocks to be completed by the end of the financial year.
One housing organisation, Whitefriars Housing disputed the findings saying “Our customers’ safety is our chief concern. We have conducted in-depth fire risk assessments three times in the past year,”.
The full report was aired on the BBC Inside Out programme on 25th October.