Joseph Dorrington, owner of an HMO in Southampton, has been found guilty of seven offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) 2005 order.
Following a fire in March 2011, where residents had to be escorted from the building by fire officers, an inspection found a series of serious fire safety issues on the premises.
Offences included blocked fire exits, unmaintained fire doors, exposed wiring, fire alarm failure and failure to cooperate with the Fire Authority. Each offence warranted a fine of around £1000 bringing the total fine payable to £7,600.
Other stories that caught our attention this week
Business Man Jailed For 2 Years
A Yorkshire business man responsible for a fire that burned for over a month at a waste disposal site has been jailed for two years.
The fire, which ended up costing taxpayers nearly £1.2m to put out and clear, started mere days after Roy Hinchcliffe was served a suspension notice for exceeding the level of waste he was allowed to store on-site.
The fire was doubtlessly exacerbated by over-tipping at the waste disposal site. Had the 700 tonne waste limit been adhered to this fire would not have raged as long as it did, or maybe it wouldn’t even have started at all.
One of the worst parts of this story is that the local fire service were tied up in putting out this fire everyday for over a month when they could have been needed elsewhere to save lives in danger from fire.
Landlord Guilty Over Fire That Killed Two
A Milton Keynes landlord has pleaded guilty to three offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) 2005 order.
Lookman Adeyemi was the landlord of an unregistered HMO in the town of Fishermead in September 2010. Following a fire that killed two people at his property he was charged and found guilty of these offences:
- failing to make a suitable fire risk assessment
- failing to ensure people could evacuate the premises quickly and safely in the event of fire
- insufficient provision of fire detectors and fire alarms at the premises
Mr Adeyemi is yet to be sentenced (due 29th March) but the judge has made it clear that he cannot rule out a custodial sentence.
Discount Fire Supplies sell a range of fire detectors and fire alarms suitable for use in a wide variety of premises, including HMOs.
