The prosecution of the owner of the Pack Horse hotel, Subhash Jajoo, followed a complaint about a blocked fire exit at the hotel in December 2008.

A follow-up inspection of the premises by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service revealed a number of failings. These included defective fire doors, a defective call point, obstructions to the escape routes, defective emergency lighting units and fire extinguishers not being maintained properly.

Cllr Paul Shannon, vice chairman of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority said: “We welcome the clear message from the courts that action will be taken against those businesses that neglect fire safety and thereby risk the public’s safety. The Fire Authority is focussed on helping businesses operate safely and taking action when they don’t.”

The owner and the general manager of Park Hotel, in Leicester, both pleaded guilty to ten breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at Leicester Magistrates Court on 21 May.

The case followed a fire on the first floor of the hotel on 13 August last year, when it was discovered that the fire alarm could not be heard in a basement area of the premises where onsite staff lived. This led to a delay of around 20 minutes for the evacuation of the hotel, the court heard. The blaze was found to have started in a guest’s room but firefighters found smoke logging throughout the premises.

In a follow-up visit on 27 August, fire safety inspectors found there was no sounder for the fire alarm in the basement, and most of the fire doors leading onto the stairs and corridor to the first floor were wedged open. Further investigations revealed that there was no evidence of weekly testing of the fire alarm or monthly tests on the emergency lighting, no certification available for the fire extinguishers, and an inadequate fire risk assessment.

Northumberland County Council was fined after a crane jib hit a 20,000 volt power cable. A fine of more than £13,000 has been handed to Northumberland County Council after a crane jib hit a 20,000 volt power cable and risked worker safety.

The incident happened on February 19, 2010, when the lorry’s jib came into contact with a live overhead cable at one of the depots.

The wagon was being unloaded and the jib was left in a raised position as the driver moved the vehicle, bringing it into contact with the power cable.

The live power line then fell to the floor putting others on the site at risk.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that an alarm which sounds when the jib is raised had been disabled.

Bedlington Magistrates’ Court heard that only two small warnings signs were found near the overhead lines, with no other precautions in place.

Northumberland County Council, of County Hall, Morpeth, pleaded guilty to one breach of Regulation 4(3) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and was fined £13,400. It was also ordered to pay £8,364.50 costs.

Source: yell.com

Wakefield Magistrates Court heard that the only way to raise the alarm at the hostel would have been to shout ‘fire’, but many of the residents did not speak English. Prosecuting, Sarah Dimmock of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the maintenance manager at hostel had told the company about a fault in the detection and alarm system on eight separate occasions.

She said that normally only one member of staff was on duty at night for 220 residents. Had a fire occurred, the fact that the alarm was not working would have been “disastrous”.

“Alerting residents by word of mouth by shouting ‘fire’ would have been the only option and could have resulted in panic,” she told the court. District Judge Marie Mallon fined the company £6,600 (£3,300 for each offence) and ordered it to pay £4,445 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. Source: Info4Fire

The site’s owner, Shirley Cooper, received a two year conditional discharge at Bodmin Magistrates’ Court and ordered to pay £3,000 costs after failing to ensure gas appliances in the caravan were in a safe condition.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), prosecuting, told the court that Mrs Cooper was served with an Improvement Notice after she failed to provide a gas safety certificate for the caravan, which had a gas fire, cooker and boiler installed.

Despite the notice, she did not arrange for a registered gas fitter to check the appliances and issue a safety certificate for the caravan at Small Park, Little Trelower, Trelowth near St Austell.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector, Georgina Speake, said:

“Landlords have a legal obligation to ensure gas appliances are properly checked every year and are issued with certificates to prove the work has been done.”

Mrs Cooper, of Main Road, Colden Common, Winchester, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 by failing to ensure the appliances were safe, and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 after she failed to comply with the Improvement Notice.

Source: hvnplus.co.uk

Douglas and Gordon Ltd pleaded guilty to three breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at Southwark crown court on 29 June. The leasehold owner of the premises in Gloucester Terrace, Paddington, Atomlynn Ltd, was fined £33,000 after pleading guilty to one offence under the Order and ordered to pay costs of £6,440.

Following a fire in one of the flats, London Fire Brigade carried out an audit of the communal areas. Officers found a number of fire safety breaches which included a failure to install a fire alarm system and a failure to ensure that the electrical intake cupboard was locked.

A fire risk assessment had been carried out but the managing agent and leaseholder had failed to act on its significant findings, said London Fire Brigade. These included the failure to make an emergency plan, ensuring that fire doors were self-closing and installing emergency lighting.

Assistant commissioner for fire safety regulation, Steve Turek, said: “London Fire Brigade will continue to take action against managing agents, lease owners or landlords who do not take their fire safety responsibilities seriously. Failure to comply with the law can, as this case has shown, result in a prosecution.”

In a statement issued following the sentence, Douglas and Gordon Ltd (D&G) said:

“D&G and its legal and technical advisors were surprised at the level of the fine as they believed the breaches represented a low level of risk, the avoidance of which is the central criteria for implementing fire precautions under the Order.

“The introduction of the Order has caused difficulties for landlords, managing agents, consultants and enforcing authorities alike when it comes to applying the legislation to blocks of flats like Gloucester Terrace. This was demonstrated by the five separate fire risk assessments D&G commissioned for the building, all of which provided different advice. We welcome the Government’s commitment to the provision of new national guidance on fire precautions in blocks of flats, which will be developed by CS Todd & Associates Limited.”

The company added that since 2008, it has worked to ensure that all of the 150 properties it manages are compliant and that its clients are properly advised of their responsibilities.

Source: Info4Fire

Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Stephen Manley said poorly maintained boilers and radiators can put tenants’ lives at risk.

He issued the warning after a landlord from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire was fined for breaching laws on gas safety.

The HSE discovered a number of defects to appliances in one of his rental properties. They also found that annual checks had not been carried out.

Furthermore, following the earlier disconnection of gas supplies, the landlord in question had re-instated them without carrying out repairs, inspectors claimed.

Asif Azam was fined £800 and ordered to pay legal costs of £2,000 after appearing in court.

Mr Manley said it was “very fortunate” that none of the landlord’s tenants where harmed in what was a “dangerous situation” for those living in the property.

Landlords have a legal responsibility under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 to arrange annual checks of pipework, appliances and flues by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Failure to do so can result in legal action, and could also have serious consequences for tenants.

HSE data shows that 15 people died from carbon monoxide poisoning associated with domestic gas appliances in 2008-09.

In addition to arranging annual gas safety checks, buy-to-let property owners can also protect themselves and their tenants by obtaining landlord liability insurance.

This will provide cover in the event that a tenant suffers an accident as a result of faults within the property.

Appearing at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 April, he was fined £3,350 and ordered to pay £899 in costs as well as a £15 victim surcharge. Mr Iqbal had failed to fit the flats above the Windmill Pub, in Peterborough, with fire doors and adequate smoke alarms. There were also inadequate means of escape and emergency lighting.

The breaches came to light following a serious blaze at the property in September last year. An electrical fire that started on the ground floor spread, trapping an adult and a baby upstairs. Source: Info4Fire