Issued on: Thursday 19 December 2019
Landlord Receives Fine Following Serious Fire
A landlord from Leicester, has been fined a total of £26,250 following a fire at Sharazur Butchers and Grocery Store in Narborough Road, Leicester last year.
Mr Mohamed Ilyas Patel who was director of MCM Trade Ltd and acted as the landlord for the premises leading up to the fire appeared at Leicester Crown Court, on Tuesday 17 December.
The fire which occurred in July 2018, started in the ground floor shop but quickly spread to flats above. This resulted in a resident in the upstairs flat having to escape from a second-floor window as they became trapped by smoke and flames.
In summing up the case the Judge said the fire safety arrangement were woefully inadequate and it was only by good fortune that no one was killed or seriously injured during the fire.
Mr Patel failed to carry out or commission a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment on the premises, failed to ensure that there was adequate fire separation between the shop and residential premises and failed to provide adequate means of raising the alarm in case of fire. In failing to carry out these measures Mr Patel put the lives of residents at serious risk.
He was fined £11,250 and ordered to pay costs of £15,000.
Nick Tarry, Station Manager, Fire Protection, said: “This sentence should act as a warning to those people with responsibility for fire safety, that Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service will take these matters extremely seriously. The consequences of this case could have been devastating.
“We will not hesitate to take legal action where fire safety standards are not met.
“Anyone who is responsible for a premises should comply with fire safety legislation, as failure to do so or having suitable fire safety arrangements in place can put people’s lives at risk.
“Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service are prepared to work with businesses to help them achieve compliance with fire safety standards.”
If you are a landlord and you are unsure of your responsibilities, please contact Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service on 0116 210 5555. Alternatively, visit leics-fire.gov.uk for fire safety advice.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Interviews can be arranged through prior arrangement with Corporate Communications on the details below.
About the Service
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service provides emergency response, prevention and protection services from 20 stations across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Its headquarters is based in Birstall, Leicester.
During 2018/19, the Service attended 762 road traffic collisions, of which 125 were extrications from vehicles, in addition to 2,569 fires. We carried out 6,746 home safety checks and fitted 4,790 smoke alarms. 279 schools were visited as part of the Service’s schools programme, delivering fire and road safety education to pupils. Staff organised or took part in 1,068 community safety events, promoting fire and road safety and arson prevention, and 134 Virtual Fatal Four (VF4) events as part of the Service’s young drivers’ road safety project.
The Service’s prevention, education, enforcement and inspection programmes have resulted in significant reductions in the number of incidents. In the last ten years, fire-related incidents have reduced by over 30 percent.
Contact:
Corporate Communications
Direct: 0116 210 5592
Corporate.communications@leics-fire.gov.uk
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