London landlord fined £18,000 for fire safety breaches
A London landlord has been found guilty of several fire safety breaches.
Mr Adrian Francis Lasrado from Wallington was told by the council that he was not permitted to rent his renovated property because the property did not comply with fire safety standards including having no suitable fire escape.
Despite the council prohibition order, Mr Lasrado rented the property to a family with 2 young children.
The landlord has now been prosecuted and fined £10,000 for the planning offence and £5,000 for failing to comply with the prohibition order. He was also ordered to pay £3,585 in costs.
Councillor Jayne McCoy from Sutton Council’s housing department, said: “These were blatant contraventions, which placed the lives of vulnerable tenants at risk. The fines issued are extremely high and reflect the seriousness of the offences and the disregard shown by Mr Lasrado to the law and the safety of his tenants. We have a good working relationship with the vast majority of landlords in Sutton and this was an exceptional case, but we will not hesitate to take formal action to protect the lives of our residents.”
London landlord fined £20,000 for fire safety failings
A London landlord has been fined £20,000 for breaching fire safety regulations.
Hitesh Mashru did not provide fire safety equipment or smoke detectors and also failed to carry out the appropriate house of multiple occupation (HMO) fire risk assessments at his property in Hertfordshire. This negligence led to a fire which destroyed two flats.
Man fined after failing to maintain alarm system in care home
A man has been prosecuted under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 after failing to maintain a fire alarm system in a care home where an elderly resident died after a fire broke out at the property.
Mr Morris was responsible for ensuring the alarm system was in good working order at Oldfield Bank care home but failed to inform the owners of the home that the system was not working properly.
An investigation after the blaze found that the outdated alarm system had been poorly maintained. It had a blown fuse which had been over ridden with a piece of wire. The fault warning function was also not working. The system was not fit for purpose despite Mr Morris issuing several annual certificates confirming that the system was in working order.
Christopher Morris who is a former firefighter, pleaded guilty and was fined £2,500 for each offence and ordered to pay £6,000 in costs.
Opus Homewares fined over B&M Bargains fire safety breach
Discount store chain Opus Homewares has reportedly been fined more than £7,500 after fire safety breaches were found at one of its stores.
The B&M Bargains outlet in Hartlepool’s Highlight Retail Park was found to have breached fire safety regulations a total of five times by blocking emergency exits. The obstructed exits were uncovered following a fire at the premises in September 2009, but Opus Homewares has only now been taken to court over the issue.
Speaking on behalf of Cleveland Fire Brigade, head of fire engineering Barry Waller explained:
“The fire broke out at the front of the store and, after the fire was extinguished by responding fire crews, it was found that several exits were unavailable or obstructed.
“The circumstances found at the time of the incident were such that they seriously compromised the safety of the occupants and that is not something the fire brigade can, or will, condone.
“It is important people realise we take these regulations very seriously and we will take such action whenever necessary.”
For their fire safety failures – which should have been dealt with as part of a fire risk assessment – Opus Homewares was fined a total of £7,500 and ordered to pay court costs of £4,000.
Greggs the bakers fined over fire safety breaches
Greggs the bakers has been fined a total of £50,000 for fire safety breaches at one of its stores in Brentford.
The problems at the Brentford store were uncovered by officers from the London Fire Brigade on a routine audit at the end of 2008. They found that numerous problems with fire exits and fire doors, and also believed that the company’s fire risk assessment and fire training policies needed updating.
The London Fire Brigade claims that a letter notifying Greggs of these breaches and the need for improvements was sent to the company in January 2009, but the recommended changes weren’t made.
At Isleworth Crown Court recently, Greggs plc. was fined fined a total of £50,000 for two separate breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 concerning fire escapes and exits and fire risk assessments. The company was also ordered to pay court costs exceeding £20,000 in total.
Speaking after the verdict, Councillor Brian Coleman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority said:
“Fire safety is a key part of good business management and responsible persons must comply with their legal obligations under the fire safety order, in order that employees and the general public are as safe as possible from the risk of fire. Failure to comply with the law can, as this case has shown, result in a prosecution.”