Mansfield store fined over £32,000 for breaching fire safety regulations
A bargain store in Mansfield has had to pay a fine of over £32,000 after being found guilty of breaching fire safety regulations.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service inspected the newly opened B&M store in Stockwell Gate in June 2012 and discovered the breaches.
Representatives from the store appeared in Mansfield Magistrates Court and admitted breaching six fire safety offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The company had failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and had obstructed fire exits leading out of the building. One exit route led to a locked enclosed area employees had not received adequate safety training.
In mitigation, barrister Austin Welch who represented the company said that B&M took health and safety and fire regulations very seriously. He said: “This is not a case where a company has operated for a great deal of time, the staff had been working there for three weeks and it had been open for a week, this is an extremely short period of time.”
Ian Taylor from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We are here to provide advice and support to local businesses and are always willing to help to make sure they comply with the fire safety legislation. However, the public should continue to be reassured that we take any breaches of fire safety very seriously and will use legal sanctions where necessary. In this case, my officers had previously spent some time ensuring that B&M Retail Ltd was aware of its responsibilities and duties to ensure people’s safety, and it is disappointing that they chose to continue to place people at risk from fire.”
Somerset care home damaged by electrical fault fire
A care home for the elderly in Somerset has been damaged by a fire that broke out on 6th February.
Two fire engines attended the incident which started in a bedroom at the Sunnymeade Care Home at around 3.00pm.
A spokesperson for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said: “Smoke detectors were fitted and activated which alerted the Careline service who in turn contacted us.”
It is thought that the fire was caused by an electrical fault. No injuries were reported.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that you:
‘must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed’
This means that all companies as a first point in their Fire Safety must complete a Fire Risk Assessment. This must be carried out by a competent person, who is trained to perform risk assessments.
Fire at Wokingham Business Park
60 firefighters were called to attend a large fire which broke out at the Mulberry Business Park in Wokingham at around 4pm on 26th November.
The fire was on the ground floor was brought under control quickly but several windows were blown out at the height of the blaze.
Bryan Morgan from the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We arrived at the scene after receiving calls from several members of the public to find a severe fire burning in the first floor. We were able to get inside and tackle the flames from the inside and I have to praise the crews involved for getting it under control so quickly.”
Eye witness, Robert Hughes said that he could smell burning plastic and flames were visible. Mr Hughes said: “My daughter was the first to tell me about it who lives just up the road. There must have been at least 24 firefighters. You could see the flames and smell burning plastic.”
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that you: ‘must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed’
This means that all companies as a first point in their Fire Safety must complete a Fire Risk Assessment. This must be carried out by a competent person, who is trained to perform risk assessments. Your Fire Training needs, your fire extinguisher needs and any other fire safety related issues you will need to address will be highlighted from the Fire Risk Assessment.
Our team of experienced and qualified Fire Risk Assessors will perform a full Fire Risk Assessment of your premises, and provide you with a comprehensive document detailing the risks found and recommendations to minimise the risks.
Landlord jailed for death trap housing
A millionaire landlord and his son have been jailed for three months each after renting out death trap flats to vulnerable families.
Around 12 families paid Mr Fazal £100 per week to rent accommodation in an inner-city area of Manchester.
One flat that was occupied by a couple with a young child, had a first-floor landing littered with discarded furniture, mattresses, beds and electrical appliances. Inspectors found that bare electrical wires were hanging from the ceiling and the electrical wiring had been by-passed, no fire alarms had been installed and statutory fire risk assessments had not been carried out.
While renting out such horrendous accommodation, Fazal was living a life of luxury in his £1.3million house in a private cul-de-sac in Cheshire.
Fazal admitted six fire and safety offences and his son, Shahbaz, pleaded guilty to housing condition charges and fire and safety offences.
Judge Roger Thomas told them: ‘It’s wholly evident from the photographs and the description that the people who lived in those flats that they were living in squalor effectively. Having taken those flats you must have done very little indeed to make the accommodation habitable for the poor people who lived there and from whom you took weekly cash payments. The bigger thing that one can’t help but remark on is while you were trading in that way, you for your own personal comfort were living at the very opposite end of the housing spectrum. You were being treated to a very substantial home yet while you were living in the lap of luxury the people you were responsible for were living in slum conditions. No fire broke out and nobody was injured, but the risk was very real and your culpability is considerable.’
Manchester councillor Paul Andrews said: ‘It is absolutely shocking that a landlord in 21st-century Manchester is content to let a family live in this kind of squalor, when he is living content in Hale Barns surrounded by rich footballers. Slum landlords should be a thing of the past and I hope this serves as a warning to others who think they can rent out revolting properties and get away with it.’
£23,000 fine for Hertfordshire fire safety breach landlords
Two Landlords from Hertfordshire have been fined a total of £23,000 for breaching fire safety regulations.
Fiaz Mahmmud and Audrey Feegrado were found guilty of five breaches of the Housing (Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Regulations 2006. Both pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The pair were found guilty of failing to provide an adequate means of escape or sufficient smoke alarms. They had also failed to ensure an adequate fire risk assessment had been carried out on the property.
Council chief executive Michel Saminaden said: “I’m very pleased with the result. It lays the foundation for a number of future projects that the council is working on to improve the quality of private sector housing within the borough. These severe fire safety breaches of the Housing (Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Regulations 2006 could have resulted in fatalities.”
Information on current HMO regulations can be found here.