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Prosecutions

pub landlord

Pub Landlord Sentenced to 17 Weeks in Prison

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Pub Landlord receives prison sentence for fire safety breaches

Pub landlord, Tony Stearman of The Poachers Inn, Ide, has been sentenced to 17 weeks in prison (suspended for 18 months) after failing to ensure his pub met fire safety standards.

He pleaded guilty to five offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at Exeter Magistrates on Tuesday 2 April 2019.

Mr Stearman was also ordered to pay £5,000 in costs to Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service (DSFRS) and a victim surcharge of £115.

Officers from DSFRS carried out an inspection and discovered that Tony Stearman failed to implement the recommendations of a fire risk assessment.

The offences related to a number of failures in the fire safety standards identified by officers of DSFRS in 2017 including:

  • The fire detection and warning system fell far short of the standard expected in a premises providing guest accommodation
  • The escape route from the guest accommodation was not adequately protected by fire resisting construction and discharged directly into the bar area
  • A linen cupboard which also housed an electrically powered immersion heater was located in the escape route.

When asked why he had not acted upon the recommendations from the risk assessor he stated he had treated it as things that he “ought to do” as opposed to things “he had to do.”

Business Safety Manager Rod Schneider said: “Mr Stearman understood the need for a Fire Risk Assessment, yet failed to comply with the requirements of the Fire Safety Order by ignoring advice from those he had appointed to assist.  He was well aware of his fire safety responsibilities and the need to ensure people visiting and staying at the premises were safe yet put lives at risk by prioritising profit over safety.”

Mr Schneider added: “The majority of businesses in Devon and Somerset take their responsibilities seriously.  However, those that decide to place people at unnecessary risk will be subject to appropriate enforcement action by DSFRS.”

DSFRS Business Safety Officers will always work with and support those businesses that take their fire safety responsibilities seriously but will not tolerate those that fail to carry out their duties.

Our Fire Risk Assessors are NEBOSH trained and available for any advice or guidance.  Click here for more information.

Original Source:

Devon & Somerset Fire

Birmingham landlord fined

Birmingham Landlord Fined

By | Birmingham News, Fire Industry News, Prosecutions | No Comments

Birmingham Landlord Fined

Fire doors didn’t fit and escape routes blocked!!!

Birmingham landlord fined totalling nearly £40,000 for breaching housing regulations, including fire safety rules.

David Greene pleaded guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court and was fined £35,000, with costs awarded at £1,941 and a victim surcharge of £170.

He had been letting a three-storey property which included ten self-contained flats. Inspectors commented that it was the worst property they had seen in the last 10 years.

Mr Greene is an established landlord, having owned the property since 1986 and was aware of HMO regulations. Birmingham City Council has frequently contacted Mr Greene to resolve the poor conditions which included those designed to protect tenants in the event of a fire.

However, he neglected his responsibilities as a landlord putting the lives in danger of vulnerable tenants who relied on him to provide safe accommodation.

While he maintained that he had issues gaining access to the flats, Birmingham City Council Officers found that smoke detectors were hanging off the ceiling, fire doors were ill fitting and fire escape exits were blocked.

Councillor Sharon Thompson, Cabinet Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods at Birmingham City Council, said: “Mr Greene has shown a callous disregard for his responsibilities as a landlord.

“This fine sends out a message to all landlords who ignore the law that Birmingham City Council will pursue anyone who lets out sub-standard accommodation.”

Original source

Birmingham City Council

pub fined for breaching fire safety rules

Pub Fined for Breaching Fire Safety Rules

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Pub Fined for Breaching Fire Safety Rules

Pub fined for breaching fire safety rules as the company responsible for operating a Cheshire pub have been landed a huge fine of £38,000 for breaching a number of fire safety rules.

The case against the Bispham Green Brewery Company Ltd, which owns the Wizard pub, was brought following a fire in 2016.

Fire crews quickly attended the scene and on arrival they discovered a fire in the kitchen area.

The member of staff who reported the incident managed to exit the building, but had to return to the first floor on two occasions to retrieve the keys to locked fire exits.

Fire crews noted a number of fire safety issues at the pub and a prohibition notice was issued by enforcement officers to prevent anyone from living or sleeping at the premises.

A post fire inspection carried out by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) found locked fire escapes, inadequate fire separation between floors and the absence of a fire alarm system within the staff living quarters.

Summarising, District Judge Sanders said: “The lack of appropriate fire safety measures created a serious risk of harm and a dangerous cocktail in the event of a fire.”

Lee Shears, Head of Protection and Organisational Performance at CFRS, said: “We welcome the sentence handed out by the court as this was a serious breach of fire safety.”

Original source

Alderley Edge

pub landlord

Three men jailed for ignoring Fire Safety Regulations

By | Birmingham News, Prosecutions | No Comments

THREE men jailed for ignoring fire safety regulations after a blaze ripped through a Shisha lounge in Birmingham – and almost killed a couple.

Of the three men jailed, Kazim Mashedi, 46, the main lease holder, of the building in High Street, Derit End , was sentenced to 18 months after admitting six breaches of fire safety law.

Waquas Rehman and Sulaman Rahid, both 30, who had both pleaded guilty to five breaches, were each jailed for eight months.

Mashedi was ordered to pay £14, 736 costs and the other two defendants £6,000 each.

Birmingham Crown Court heard that Mashedi had sublet the Shisha Lounge to Rehman and Rahid while other parts were being used for sleeping accommodation when they should not have been.

Michael Atkinson and Sherelle Gordon who were sleeping in the building “escaped death by seconds” when they fell from their second-floor bedsit after the floor collapsed.

There was also a wooden walkway constructed which had not received any planning permission.

The blaze was the result of an arson attack on the premises in the early hours of Christmas Day 2013.

Mr Atkinson, who worked as security, and Miss Gordon were awoken at around 3am and saw thick black smoke and flames.

As the flames started to come through the patio doors, the couple covered themselves in a wet blanket and Mr Atkinson also grabbed his dog.

The floor then collapsed as they were perched on a ledge and both fell to concrete below, suffering injuries including broken bones, cuts and bruises.

They were then left trapped in a courtyard but Mr Atkinson managed to climb over a wall and both were helped to escape.  The poor dog perished in the fire.

In passing sentence Judge Richard Bond said that the walkway was an “accident waiting to happen” and that in the part of the building where the couple were there were no smoke alarms or detectors.

He said that the 999 call Mr Atkinson made was “harrowing” and went on: “They escaped death by seconds. This had a profound and lasting impact upon them.”

The judge said that it was a high risk premises and that the walkway should have been built from fire resistant material rather than wood which was cheaper.

He added, any attempt to install alarms or detectors had been “woefully ineffective.”

The judge also said that the Shisha Lounge had been packed with sofas which provided a ready source of fuel once the fuel had started.

He said, the three men jailed had “put their desire to make money from the Shisha Lounge before the welfare and safety of others.” and had “done almost nothing in relation to fire safety.”

While he said Mashedi, who had run other Shisha lounges, had shown no remorse and described as an “arrogant and selfish man who simply cares about himself”.

It costs less to ensure fire safety is sufficient within your premises than the fines and prison sentences.  You can start by booking a Fire Risk Assessment by clicking here.

 

Original Source

Birmingham Mail

two children died

Two Children Died after Landlords Neglect

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Two Children Died aged 2 and 3 years old

Two children died after a landlord failed to fit smoke alarms inside a rented house where the two boys lived has been jailed for a year following a landmark case.

Kamal Bains was told his inability to install smoke detectors at the property in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, was a “significant cause” of the deaths of Logan Taylor, three, and two-year-old Jake Casey after a fire broke out at their home.

The youngsters died when an electrical fault in a TV caused a fire in their bedroom in February 2016 as their mother Emma Taylor was beaten back by heat as she tried to rescue them, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Bains admitted a breach of health safety law on Monday in a case believed to be the first of its kind.

West Yorkshire Police said the prosecution was the first to be brought since legislation was passed in October 2015 which requires private sector landlords to have at least one smoke alarm installed on every storey of their properties.

Bains had been on trial for manslaughter but the charges were dropped after he admitted the health and safety violations.

Sentencing him, Mr Justice Males told him: “Your failure to fit smoke alarms was a significant cause of the children’s deaths.

“Thus the harm caused by your failure could not have been more serious.”

Detective Superintendent Steve Thomas, of West Yorkshire Police, said: “We also hope that this case is a stark reminder to landlords and letting agents to treat their responsibilities seriously and they have an obligation to ensure that all properties are fully equipped with all adequate safety measures to ensure the safety of their tenants.”

West Yorkshire’s Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Dave Walton, said: “Had there been working smoke alarms in this property, the outcome could have been very different and these brothers could have had a future to look forward to.

“As firefighters, the importance of having working smoke alarms is a message that we try and get over to the public day in and day out.”

“This landmark case shows how vitally important it is that landlords and letting agents take their responsibilities seriously or the consequences do not bear thinking about.”

Original Source:

Daily Mirror

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landlord fined £50,000

Landlord Heavily Fined

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A Landlord of a property in Wembley, north London, who illegally sublet an unlicensed and poorly-maintained bungalow, described by Brent Council as a ‘death trap’ for the cramped conditions, has been fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £6,520 in court costs.

Willesden Magistrates Court found Petru Dregan guilty of breaking housing management regulations and neglecting to protect the safety of tenants from whom he was taking money.

The council’s licensing enforcement team raided the property and reported smoke alarms which had been covered up, blocked windows and doors, as well as damp and mould-caked walls.

The raid on the unlicensed HMO was shown on the Channel 5 programme Bad Tenants, Rogue Landlords which revealed the appalling conditions inside the property.

Mattresses littered the floors of the living room, dining room and even the pantry.  Makeshift bunkbeds made out of wood offcuts, pallets and tarpaulins, enabled 10 men to share one bedroom originally designed for two people.

One of the occupants of the bungalow told enforcement officers that he was paying the landlord £50 a week to live there.

Councillor Eleanor Southwood, lead member for Housing and Welfare Reform at Brent Council, said: “The court’s decision is a positive result for renters in Brent who have a right to safe and decent living conditions.

“In a poorly managed property like this one, people’s lives are at stake. Landlord’s, agents and sub-letters who ignore licensing laws and the regulations around housing management will be hit hard with heavy fines.”

Selective licensing in Brent has been extended to all privately-rented properties in key parts of the borough.

From 1 October government changes will require any property rented out to five or more unrelated people to be issued with a mandatory HMO licence.

Original Source

Landlord Today

Property Industry Eye

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