A Hillingdon property manager has been ordered to pay nearly £13,000 in fines and costs after being found guilty of breaches of fire safety legislation.
Uxbridge Magistrates' Court fined Armajit Singh, £5,600 for seven breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Mr. Singh did not own the premises but was managing it for his uncle and had responsibility for the property’s maintenance and repairs.
The prosecution followed a fire at the house converted into flats on Wood End Green Road, Hayes on 14 September 2007. A man and a woman were woken by the blaze and tried to escape via the staircase but it was engulfed by thick black smoke. They escaped by smashing the first floor bedroom window and jumping out. The woman broke her ankle in the fall and the man suffered deep cuts to his hands.
Fire safety inspectors visited the premises and found that there were a number of faults including no smoke alarm or fire extinguishers in the property and none of the doors were fire resistant.
Armajit Singh pleaded not guilty to all seven summonses but the Magistrates’ decided that Mr. Singh was responsible for the breaches and awarded in favour of the Brigade.
Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety Regulation Steve Turek said: “The residents involved in this fire suffered injuries but it could have been a lot worse. The property had no smoke alarm or an accessible means of escape and this incident could have resulted in a death or more severe injuries to the occupants. It is important for people who are responsible for managing properties to know that they can be held to account for fire safety failures that are within their control. I urge landlords, business owners and employers to take their fire safety responsibilities very seriously. I would like to thank the inspecting officers for their hard work in bringing forward this conviction.”
Notes for editors
Summons 1
Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, in that he failed to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons were exposed.
Summons 2
Article 11(1) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, in that he failed to make and give effect to appropriate fire safety arrangements.
Summons 3
Article 13(1)(a) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, in that he failed to provide appropriate fire fighting equipment.
Summons 4
Article 13(1)(a) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, in that he failed to provide appropriate fire detection measures, namely, a fire alarm.
Summons 5
Article 13(1)(a) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, in that he failed to provide appropriate fire detection measures, namely, adequate smoke alarms.
Summons 6
Article 14(2)(a) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, in that he failed to ensure that persons were able to evacuate the premises as quickly and as safely as possible, in that the escape route was not properly protected.
Summons 8
Article 15(1)(a) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, in that he failed to establish and give effect to appropriate procedures to be followed in the event of serious and imminent fire.
Summons 7 was withdrawn by the Brigade on the day of the hearing.
The Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005 came into force on 1 October 2006, and replaced over 70 separate pieces of fire safety legislation. It gives responsibility to those who are best placed to address fire safety and ensure that risks - which necessarily change over time - are kept under review. Under the FSO a 'responsible person' (usually the owner, employer or occupier of business or industrial premises) must carry out a fire risk assessment. Responsible persons under the Order are required, following a risk assessment, to implement appropriate fire safety measures to minimise the risk to life from fire; and to keep the assessment up to date.
Pictures attached are of the fire at Wood End Green Road on 14 September 2007. If used please state that pictures are copyright of the London Fire Brigade.
