Former pub landlord fined £16,000 for fire safety breaches

A former pub landlord has been ordered to pay a total of £16,015 in fines and costs for serious breaches of fire safety law following a prosecution brought by London Fire Brigade. The former landlord pleaded guilty to 16 contraventions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.

Isleworth Crown Court heard that fire officers inspecting the public house in August 2008 uncovered a number of failings, including no fire risk assessment, no portable fire extinguishers, and no emergency signage.

After explaining their concerns and asking for the faults to be rectified, fire officers revisited the premises and issued an enforcement notice when they found continuing non-compliance.

When officers again visited the premises, conditions had deteriorated and the brigade served a prohibition notice banning the use of the upper floors by staff and guests because the risk from fire was so serious. However, a subsequent visit confirmed that the upper floors were still being used as accommodation.

Following a further inspection in May 2009, the owner of the premises took action at the recommendation of fire officers and physically barred access to the upper floor.

As pub landlord during the period, the former landlord was the responsible person under the Fire Safety Order, and was fined accordingly.

Facilities Management - Landlord jailed for fire safety offences

Facilities management companies, managing agents and landlords need to be aware that they are responsible for the premises that they manage (especially the common areas of these premises). This relates to all relevant aspects of health and safety, including fire safety.

A Landlord has received and a four month custodial sentence for failing to comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The London Fire Brigade prosecuted the defendant after a fatal fire resulted in the death of an individual at one of the many properties owned by the accused.

It was discovered that the defendant or his company had never completed a fire risk assessment and there were no provisions made for fire safety, smoke detection, emergency signs and many escape routes which would be used in the event of a fire were blocked.

As well as being sent to prison, the company of the guilty party was fined £21,000, plus costs.

If you need assistance with Fire Safety or any aspect of Facilities Management Safety, take a look at out website.

The importance of Paperwork in health and safety

I first posted this blog about two years ago. It is still true (and simple) now.


Recently, I spent a morning in Birmingham visiting a neat little site for a major client. There were a few niggly areas to address, but the main one (which seems to affect a huge number of sites) was the retrieval of relevant records. While almost everything was in place, it was difficult to establish this with the paperwork trail. The importance of the paperwork trail can be seen by considering safety to be split into two simple things:

1. The things that we do to protect ourselves, employees and others
2. The proof of what we have done

Clearly, it is the things that we do that are most important for protecting people from harm. The proof element becomes important after things have gone wrong or when there is an enforcement visit. The proof element is essential for protecting the Company from harm. By way on schoolboy analogy: "if you are called into the Head's office to be caned, ensure that you have book down the back of your trousers. The records are those books - your corporate protection"