5th
Oct 2015
A London landlord, who was found guilty of contravening fire safety rules for his HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupation) which could have caused the death of two tenants, has been given a six month suspended prison sentence, 200 hours’ community order and fined over £22,000.
The landlord appearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court admitted guilt to four offences breaching the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The two tenants, Thomas McCann, 60 and Hamza Zulfiqar, 21 were killed four years ago in the property’s fire in London E17.
The property consisted of five bedrooms together with a shared bathroom and kitchen. Twenty firefighters in four fire engines tackled the blaze which spread throughout the ground and first floors and into the loft. The two tenants were in the property at the time.
Thomas McCann was on the first floor when the fire broke out and may have been sleeping as it seemed he made little efforts to vacate. The same could not be said for Hamza Zulfiqar who was on the ground floor at the time. He had frantically tried to get out of the blazing house but to no avail.
The London Fire Brigade went to the house the following day and its inspectors uncovered a series of dangerous breaches of fire safety regulations.
There were no fire detectors or smoke alarms within the property and not a single fire extinguisher or other fire prevention appliance on any floor. There was no proper risk assessment that had been carried out and acted upon for the house. Not one of the doors could withstand 30minutes’ fire activity.
Most damning of all was that the front door which was the only real fire exit within the property had a mortice lock fitted. The only means to leave the house would be use a key for the front door which is extremely dangerous in an emergency and panic stricken situation.
The landlord was ordered to pay £22,684 for prosecution costs.
Image Source: The Guardian
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