Last week, a building owner was given a six-month suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of seven fire safety offences. On top of this sentence, Saif Ahmed of London was also ordered to pay over £13,000 in court costs and carry out 150 hours of community service.
In 2009 fire safety officers visited Mr Ahmed’s property in London in order to inspect and appraise the level of fire protection in the premises. The building comprised of 5 floors – the basement and ground floor were being used as a takeaway restaurant whereas the top 3 floors were used as accommodation. It was on the floors being used as sleeping quarters that officers discovered a range of fire safety misdemeanours.
There were no fire alarms or emergency lighting, the bedroom doors were neither fire resistant nor self-closing, there was only one escape route out of the building and officers also found no evidence of a fire risk assessment.
This is yet another example of fire safety ignorance and the repercussions that landlords face if they do not adhere to fire regulations. In many cases any court proceedings and sentences can easily be avoided and after a guilty verdict, firm sentencing like this sends out a clear message to commercial property owners that poor fire safety will not be tolerated.
A relatively small building like this over 5 floors could have been cost-effectively kitted out for a lot less than Mr Ahmed has been forced to pay to the courts.
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- A Premier Elite 4 Zone Fire Alarm Kit, for example, costs only £250 and comes with a variety of devices that are perfect for a starter fire alarm system.
- Emergency lighting units start from only £12.60 and we also stock photo-luminescent emergency exit signs which retail at around £7.30.
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