Company and sole trader fined for guest house fire safety failures

Mr Krishnan (a director of Walpole House Limited who also operated a separate sole trader business providing sleeping accommodation at the premises) was prosecuted in relation to his sole trader business. He was fined £1,480 and ordered to pay a £592 surcharge. Mr Kishnan also pleaded guilty to seven offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The prosecution followed an inspection that uncovered significant deficiencies in the fire safety arrangements at the premises. The seriousness of the failings led fire safety inspectors from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service to serve a Prohibition Notice preventing the use of the premises for sleeping accommodation until the necessary remedial works had been completed.

The case came to light after a referral from the local authority.

Serious deficiencies

Fire safety inspectors visited the premises in August 2024 and identified a number of serious fire safety deficiencies. These included:

*the lack of a fire risk assessment

*the absence of an installed fire alarm system

*inadequate emergency lighting provision and a lack of regular maintenance of existing provisions

*incomplete fire doors throughout the premises

*inadequate evacuation procedures

*no firefighting equipment

These deficiencies raised significant concerns about the safety of those individuals sleeping at the premises, particularly so in terms of their ability to receive an adequate warning of a fire and to escape the premises on a safe basis.

As stated, Walpole House Limited and Mr Krishnan both pleaded guilty to seven offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The offences related to failures to meet legal requirements concerning:

*Article 8 – General fire precautions: Failure to take appropriate general fire precautions to ensure the safety of relevant persons

*Article 9 – Fire risk assessment: Failure to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of fire risks

*Article 11 – Fire safety arrangements: Failure to establish adequate arrangements to plan, organise, control, monitor and review fire safety measures

*Article 13 – Fire detection, warning and firefighting equipment: Failure to ensure the premises were equipped, to the appropriate extent, with suitable fire detection and alarm systems and appropriate firefighting equipment

*Article 14 – Emergency routes and exits: Failure to ensure adequate means of escape in the event of fire (including appropriate fire doors and emergency lighting)

*Article 15 – Fire safety procedures: Failure to establish, implement and communicate appropriate procedures to be followed in the event of serious and imminent danger

*Article 17 – Maintenance: Failure to ensure that fire safety measures were appropriately maintained and kept in efficient working order and good repair

Legal responsibility

Fire safety inspector Tony Hickey, who investigated the case on behalf of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Fire safety is not optional. Anyone providing sleeping accommodation has a legal responsibility to ensure that appropriate fire safety measures are in place in order to protect the lives of those staying at their premises.”

Hickey continued: “The failures identified in this case are serious. The prosecution demonstrates that Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service will take enforcement action where and when those individuals and organisations responsible fail to meet their legal obligations. The consequences of inadequate fire safety can be devastating. Compliance must never be treated as an afterthought.”

Reinforcing the message, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service will continue to take appropriate enforcement action where those responsible for premises fail to meet their fire safety obligations, in turn helping to protect the public from the risks posed by inadequate fire safety arrangements.

*Further information is available online at www.dsfire.gov.uk