A building owner and a property managing agent from Leicester and Hong Kong, appeared at Leicester Crown Court, recently, following guilty pleas entered over Fire Safety Breaches at a previous hearing at Leicester Crown Court.
Both the building owners and the managing agent pleaded guilty to offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The charges related to several fire safety breaches raised by Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service at a multi-occupied block of high-rise flats in Leicester City Centre.
What is a breach of the fire safety order?
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service has a robust inspection programme in place and as part of that process, several inspections and audits were carried out at a 7-storey multi-occupied block of flats in Leicester City centre.
Through continuous engagement, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service issued several notices regarding fire safety issues. These were not resolved so Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service took the decision to prosecute under Article 32 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
In sentencing Treasure HK Ltd, Affitto Estate Agents and Mr. Manjeet Hayre, the director of Affitto Estate Agents Ltd, Judge Spencer in summoning up, said: “In my judgement of shambolic regard to the required fire safety measures over a 4-year period, with no less than 58 call outs, cost substantial amounts of money, in broad terms the failure to comply, to take general fire precautions, no fire risk assessment, no communication, no competent person to assist with the implementation, no maintenance and finally failure to comply with enforcement, it is a depressing picture.”
They were sentenced as follows: – Treasure HK Ltd was fined a total of £79,000 including costs and Affitto – Mr Manjeet Hayre was fined a total of £101,000 including costs, including 2 years conditional discharge.
Station Manager Sanjay Bulsara, Fire Protection Team Leader, said: “As this case strongly illustrates, complying with fire safety legislation is not optional and courts take failures of Fire Safety seriously. Failure to ensure suitable and sufficient fire safety arrangements are in place and maintained can put people’s lives at risk, particularly in premises where they sleep and are potentially even more vulnerable to fire.”
“I hope this case shows that companies, landlords, and managing agents who have responsibilities to meet fire safety obligations but fail to do so, face severe penalties”.
“Where responsible people fail in their duties and responsibilities to uphold Fire Safety legislation, as in this case, we will not hesitate to prosecute.”
“The outcome of this case and the length of time we have been working on this prosecution has been achieved through the hard work, dedication, and professionalism, over time by the dedicated Fire Protection Officers and our Fire Protection Team within Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service”.
All about the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
What is the fire safety order (Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005)?
If you own, manage or operate a business, you must comply with fire safety law. The main law is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 or “the Fire Safety Order”. It applies across England and Wales and came into force on 1 October 2006.
Who does it apply to?
The Order applies to almost all buildings, places, and structures other than individual private homes – individual flats in a block or family homes.
Other places the Order covers include shared areas in houses in multiple occupations (HMOs), blocks of flats, and maisonettes.
What are your responsibilities?
You need to make sure:
- Your premises reach the required standards.
- Employees are provided with adequate fire safety training.
What about Fire Risk Assessments?
It’s mandatory to carry out a detailed assessment identifying the risks and hazards in commercial premises. By law, if you are responsible for the premises, you must ensure that a competent person has completed a Fire Risk Assessment. Additionally, your Fire Risk Assessment must be recorded if you have a total of five or more employees or your business has a licence under an enactment in force. The responsible person for the premises is also required to:
- Consider who may be especially at risk.
- Eliminate or reduce the risk of fire as far as is reasonably practical.
- Provide general fire precautions to deal with any risk.
- Take additional measures to ensure fire safety where flammable or explosive materials are used or stored.
- Create a plan to deal with any emergency and, where necessary, record any findings.
- Maintain general fire precautions and facilities provided for use by firefighters.
- Keep any findings of the risk assessment under review.
