£30,000 fine for fire safety breach landlords
Two commercial property landlords in Manchester have been fined £30,000 for breaching fire safety regulations.
Suhail Sawar and Tariq Sawar were found guilty of the offences at Manchester City magistrates’ court.
An investigation had shown that the two multi occupancy properties in Derby Road had insufficient emergency lighting, fire alarms and a sufficient fire risk assessment had not been carried out.
Suhail Sawar was fined £17,500 and £3,365 costs, and his father, Tariq Sawar was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay £2,480 costs.
Peter O’Reilly from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue said: “It was made clear to these two men that they alone were the responsible individuals for ensuring the fire safety of people in the respective buildings they owned. They comprehensively failed to do this, despite enforcement notices being issued.”
100 firefighters tackle Northamptonshire blaze
Around 100 firefighters have taken 3 days to extinguish a huge fire at The Think Environment processing plant in Northamptonshire which broke out on 25th September at Blackbridge Farm, Burton Latimer.
Nearby roads were closed for several days to enable the crews to lay a long water pump.
Iain Bomberg, commercial director of Think Environment, said: “We deeply regret the fire, but we have been working our hardest with the emergency authorities to resolve the situation. We hope to get in there imminently to start the clean-up operation and replace any damaged equipment to get back up and running as soon as possible.”
An investigation into the cause of the fire will be carried out but it is not being treated as suspicious.
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.
Heinz factory back on track after fire
A Heinz factory that was devastated by a fire on 7th May this year is finally getting back on track.
Production at the Westwick factory started again shortly after the fire but it has taken several months to get back to full production levels.
A spokesperson for the factory said: “Plans are under review to replace one manufacturing line that was damaged beyond repair by the fire. However, production volume across the remaining two lines, which were part of major investment in the last two years, has been dialled up and all staff [around 200] are fully deployed at the site. The remaining volume requirements are being sourced through Heinz co-packers. As a result of the fire investigation, measures have already put in place to prevent a recurrence but further details were not disclosed.”
across Norfolk using foam, breathing apparatus and an aerial ladder platform.
The huge fire was tackled by about 100 firefighters from Aylsham, Stalham, Earlham, North Walsham, Norwich, Sprowston, Gorleston and Loddon fire stations.
Around 60 staff were in the factory at the time of the fire but no one was injured.
Our team of experienced and qualified Fire Risk Assessors can 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. Contact us for more information.
London landlord fined £10,000 for safety breaches
A London landlord has been given a suspended prison sentence after he was found guilty of multiple breaches of Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at his Hayes property.
A fire broke out at Inderjit Singhs property in 2009 and fire safety officers found multiple safety breaches including not having fire doors installed and not carrying out an adequate fire risk assessment.
Steve Turek from the London Fire Brigade said: “This verdict sends out a clear message that if landlords ignore fire safety then they will face serious penalties. The London Fire Brigade works hard to make companies and individuals understand their responsibilities under fire safety law and only uses prosecution as a last resort.”
Mr Singh was also ordered to pay £10,000 in costs.
Independent fire safety expert in court for fire risk failings
A fire safety expert appeared in court yesterday in connection with a hotel fire in Cornwall in 2007 in which 3 people died. Firefighters claim that it was the worst British hotel fire that has been seen in the last 40 years.
Monica Hughes aged 86 and 80-year-old Joan Harper perished in the blaze, and Mrs Hughes son, 46 died when he tried to escape from the fire by jumping from a third floor window. 90 other residents managed to escape.
Martin Tricker who was an Independent Fire Safety expert has denied a charge of failing to carry out an adequate fire risk assessment at The Penhallow Hotel.
Mr Tricker attended Truro Crown Court with the owners of the hotel. The owners had previously admitted to health and safety breaches.