Industry News

If you were given a 5 month prison sentence and ordered to pay £100,000 in costs for failing to arrange a basic fire safety assessment you may consider that punishment to be quite severe. However at Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd (FASS) we feel if anything it is getting away quite lightly, after all, the reckless actions of deciding not to carry out a straight forward fire assessment to ensure your tenants are safe could so easily end up with the loss of life, something no fine or prison sentence can put a price on.

Yet one Humberside based landlord recently felt that ignoring tenants safety and saving himself a small amount of money but not having a risk assessment was the right thing to do – he will now have 5 months in prison to reflect on why this is beyond foolish and how fortunate it was that no one was killed following the serious fire that swept through one of his properties.

It is hard to imagine that anyone would feel it is appropriate to cut corners in such a manor, that endangering the very people who are paying a rent to a landlord who they believe is renting a safe and secure home to them is acceptable just to save a small amount of money. Fire Regulations are in place for a reason, to safeguard peoples lives and property – not for landlords and business owners to pick and choose which regulations they feel they would like to adhere to.

At FASS we are only to happy to work with you to carry out a fire risk assessment and to make sure you meet or exceed all current fire regulations and that your building is safe. Had this particular landlord carried out a fire risk assessment he would have been advised that that the premises were not fitted with appropriate fire detectors or alarms, there were no self closing fire doors and that general fire precautions were not adequate. An action plan would then have been created and once the issues were rectified a certificate would have been issued ahead of the property being rented. These are quite simple steps, simple steps that save lives.

If you would like further information on how FASS can help you with fire risk assessments, or would like any further information on our services, please contact us.

As a company we are always bringing to people’s attention the need to have good quality, serviceable and appropriate fire detection and extinguishing devices – the benefits speak for themselves, aside from being a legal requirement in many places.

However, what is often overlooked is what happens when a device such as a fire extinguisher reaches the end of it’s serviceable life? What do you do with it? The extinguisher might now be consigned to the rubbish bin but a highly pressurised, large metal canister is not something anyone should consider just putting in the office bin!

However, we recently read of one such incident in central London where somebody did incorrectly dispose of a redundant extinguisher into the general rubbish and it caused quite an incident. Unfortunately when refuse collectors emptied the bin, the CO2 fire extinguisher was tipped into the back of the rubbish truck and subsequently exploded under the pressure of being crushed by the machine. Thankfully no-body was injured although considering the forces involved in the explosion this was extremely fortunate indeed, it did however cause considerable damage and it left rubbish strewn across the street.

Given the pressurised nature of extinguishers these need to be disposed of correctly and this is where FASS can help. We are licensed waste carriers and as such have the correct paperwork and knowledge to correctly dispose of extinguishers safely. So if you require your extinguishers to checked to ensure they are still operable and safe to use, or require your old and redundant extinguishers to be disposed of, please contact us to discuss how we can help you.

It is with a mixture of disbelief, sadness and shock at the regularity in which we read cases in trade journals, or see with our own eyes on site visits, the wilful contempt people treat the risks to life or injury from fire – in many cases simple steps could be taken that would minimise these dangers and so often, despite being made aware of them, people choose to ignore them.

On recent article highlighted a curry house owner in Somerset who has now been jailed for six months for endangering the lives of both customers and staff following several breeches of fire safety laws. In this particular case the owner had put storage on the staircase on both the ground and first floors which would have made it extremely difficult to escape in the event of a fire.

In addition there had been a failure to fit fire alarms and detectors and regulations were also broken by allowing staff members to sleep at the premises plus failing to ensure a suitable fire risk assessment had been carried out.

What makes the story even more alarming is that the owner had deliberately ignored warnings and advice from the fire service and ignored two Prohibition Notices.

Speaking on the article, Paul Wilkinson, Managing Director of FASS said “It’s shocking that someone can ignore the advice given to them by professionals who’s only interest is in keeping people safe, yet this person has chosen to disregard that and put people at risk. I am pleased to read that in this instance a jail sentence was given out which will hopefully highlight to others the severity of ignoring regulations. If anyone as any doubts about what is required to be compliant with fire safety regulations or would like FASS to check their current fire safety alarms and extinguishers or carry out a fire risk assessment, please do get in touch with us, we would be only to happy to discuss this with you”.

If you would like to enquire about a Fire Risk Assessment please contact us or complete our online form.

At Fire and Safety Solutions we often share news stories that we feel highlight potential risks relating to fire or failings with regards to reducing fire risks. Many of these items relate to commercial property such as industrial businesses or restaurants for example. However, we were equally alarmed to read the recent prosecution of three landlords of private properties for basic failures in protecting their tenants from the danger of fire.

If you are a tenant you would assume that your Landlord has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the risk of fire is reduce in accordance with current regulations, equally if you are a landlord you must be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that comply with current fire regulations before you let your property. You may not be aware of those regulations or what is required to comply which is where FASS can help you by carrying out a full safety check and issuing a Landlord certificate to prove you comply. Failure to comply with regulations is not only a danger to life and property, it is highly likely to invalidate your insurance and leave you facing prosecution.

All three Landlords who were recently prosecuted by Oxford City Council had action taken against them after an inspection by an environmental officer who found a variety of failings. In one house three people were found to be living on the third floor above a restaurant which was deemed a high-risk unlicensed house of multiple occupancy (HMO, with two fire-safety faults. The landlord was fined £4,000 and was ordered to pay surcharges and council costs of £1,436.

In the case of the second landlord, it was found he had breached fire and safety conditions of his HMO licence. He received a fine of £2,000 and ordered to pay surcharges and council costs of £1,375. The final landlord was found to be letting the property to three unrelated tenants in the unlicensed rental house and fire offenses including two smoke alarms that were not working and no fire door fitted to the kitchen. She received fines totaling £5,000 and was ordered to pay surcharges and council costs of £1,238.

Speaking on these cases, Paul Wilkinson – Managing Director of FASS said; “Whilst there are always incidents where people blatantly disregard laws, in some cases landlords may not be aware of the full extent of fire regulations their property needs to conform to in order to be rented out. To those people who are unsure or would like to check they have carried out everything required in order to meet current fire regulations we offer a fire safety check and landlord certificate service. I would urge those landlords to speak to us and we will be happy to advise on how we can help.”

To find out more about fire safety checks and landlord certificates please visit the following link or contact us for more information. We look forward to hearing from you.

It’s hard to believe that anyone would deliberately endanger life or willingly increase the risk of fire and if you were to ask someone directly, would you like to have a significantly increased risk of fire or a decreased risk of fire, you would imagine that everyone would want to have a reduced risk of fire. Yet there are exceptions.

Another recent case highlighted in a trade journal shows that some irresponsible people are knowingly willing to put people in danger. In this particular instance a restaurant where you would reasonably expect to go for a pleasant family meal or out with friends in complete safety – yet by blatantly flouting Fire Safety laws, the restaurant was an accident waiting to happen. Fortunately, a concerned member of the public made a complaint which prompted a visit from fire safety officers who discovered a number of serious breaches in their inspection.

The breaches found by the fire officers were so serious they issued an immediate Prohibition Notice. Breaches included obstructed fire exits, defective emergency lighting, no working fire alarms, dangerous electrics and a fire risk assessment that took no account of ongoing building work on the 2nd floor of the property where the staff slept.

The restaurant owner was successfully prosecuted and fined £13,452 plus ordered to pay £1,962 costs. Since the prosecution, all of the required safety measures are now in place at the restaurant as they should be.

Since the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 all businesses are required by law to carry out a fire risk assessment. They are also required to take appropriate steps to minimise the risk of fire and implement general fire precautions to protect people if a fire occurs at the premises. Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd can carry out a full fire risk assessment and work with you to ensure that not only is your building safe from the risk of fire, but that you comply with the current fire safety regulations.

To find out more and to arrange a fire safety survey, please contact us or book online here.

If you regularly read our news section, you will know that at Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd we take our responsibilities, and that of our staff and Fire Technicians, towards our clients seriously and never more so than when it comes to ensuring that any work we carry out on your behalf is done by a qualified and competent person, to the correct standards. This is not only because we believe in delivering a quality service, but more importantly any mistakes or shortcuts could be costly or at worse, fatal should a fire break out.

It therefor always amazes and in truth, shocks us, that other companies or individuals would even consider not conforming to regulations and carrying out work safely and correctly, however a recent article in IFSEC Global highlighted one such case. In what is believed to be a landmark case, a fire system contractor has been convicted under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and fined £5,000 plus ordered to pay £6,000 costs. The conviction relates to two charges of failing to maintain a fire detection and alarm system at a care home in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and failing to inform the owners of the deficiencies in the system.

The incident came to light following a fire at the care home in May 2009. Enforcement officers commissioned a specialist examination of the fire alarm panel following the fire and amongst other things reported:

• A blown fuse overridden with a piece of wire
• An electronic component suspended between two terminal bocks instead of being attached to the circuit board
• An alarm silence/fault warning buzzer missing from the circuit board
• The fault warning light on the front face of the panel had been almost covered by paint

Speaking on the article, Paul Wilkinson, MD of FASS said; “It’s always sad to hear of a fire, especially when there is the possibility that it may have been prevented, however I am pleased to hear of the successful prosecution under the Fire Safety Order. Over the years we have seen all to often where shortcuts or falsified documents have been used, sub-standard work or inappropriate fire safety equipment installed, all of which is unacceptable and a disaster waiting to happen. Saving a few pounds can in no way compensate for the danger and damage caused by fire so I would urge anyone who has any doubt about a previous contractor or work carried out, or who has not had a recent fire safety inspection to contact us. All of our staff are fully qualified, experienced and competent giving you complete peace of mind that any work we do is carried out to the highest standard”.

To find out more or to book your fire safety survey, please contact us.