Serious fire in converted church building leads to prosecution

At Preston Crown Court, St Lukes (Preston) Ltd was ordered to pay £60,000 plus costs, while company director Sean Broadhurst was fined £17,000 plus costs. The sentencing follows on from the devastating fire at the premises that broke out on the ground floor in the early hours of 9 January 2020.

The fire, which began in the kitchen of a self-contained flat, rapidly spread throughout the building. The ground floor housed ten general needs flats, while the first floor was a 13-bed House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), primarily occupied by students.

When tenants activated the manual Call Points, and when smoke triggered the smoke detection in the escape routes, the automatic fire system did not sound an audible warning to the tenants. Fortunately, the tenants were able to alert the sleeping occupants in the premises through their own efforts.

Subsequent investigations conducted by officers from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service identified serious fire safety deficiencies, including an inadequate fire alarm system, sub-standard fire doors, poor compartmentation, an inadequate fire safety management and the absence of a fire risk assessment.

Guilty pleas

On 19 May this year, both St Lukes (Preston) Ltd and Sean Broadhurst pleaded guilty to breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The charges included:

*(St Lukes (Preston) Ltd – Breach of Article 8

*Sean Broadhurst – Breaches of Articles 8 and 9

Area manager Matthew Hamer, head of prevention and protection at the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, commented: “This case highlights the critical importance of robust fire safety measures and the legal responsibilities of property owners and managers to ensure the safety of occupants.”

Hamer continued: “The absence of a functioning alarm system and other critical protections placed lives at risk. We welcome Preston Crown Court’s recognition of the seriousness of these breaches and hope this serves as a clear message to all property owners and managers about their legal and moral responsibilities.”