New Smoke and CO Alarm legislation for Landlords If this message doesn't display correctly please click hereTo ensure our E-shot updates get to your inbox - add this to your address book On the 11th March new legisatation regarding Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms was announced. Visit our dedicated webpage to learn more and keep up to date with any new announcements or updates. For information specific to Landlord Legislation in Scotland, please find the information here.  Don’t forget to register for our free Landlord’s Guide that covers all the exisiting British Standards for Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms. To be removed from our email mailing list, please click here to unsubscribe

One of the country’s biggest care home providers has today been ordered to pay £170,622 for contravening fire safety laws following a fire in which a woman died. Anchor Trust which runs Rose Court on Lower Road in Bermondsey, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at Woolwich Crown Court. This case comes soon after the conviction of another care home provider in Croydon, in May 2014. The lady in question, who suffered from dementia, died following a fire in her room at the home for elderly people on 26 March 2010. Investigators determined that the fire was caused by her nightwear coming into contact with a naked flame. The investigation found that although the general fire risk assessment for the home identified smoking as a risk, further assessment specifically in respect of the woman had not been carried out as required by Anchor Trust’s own policies. As a result measures to reduce the risk had not been properly considered or put into place. During 2013/14 there were 527 fires in London’s care homes and sheltered accommodation, with two people dying and 34 people being injured. *Source: London Fire Brigade Please note: commercial buildings, non-domestic and multi-occupancy premises in England and Wales are already forced to undertake a ‘suitable and sufficient’ fire risk assessment carried out under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. While the overwhelming majority of premises do this, if the assessment is carried out to an insufficient extent, the responsible person can face an unlimited fine or up to two years in prison.

Business owners are being advised by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service to pay greater attention to fire safety legislation, following the prosecution of a Nottingham fast food retailer at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court today (Monday 4 November). LFF Limited faced a total financial penalty of £14,979.50, including a victim surcharge and full costs, after pleading guilty to six fire safety offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Fines imposed on LFF Limited included £2,667 for failing to have installed a fire detection and warning system and £2,000 for failing to ensure that escape routes from upper floors were adequately protected from smoke and fire. All of the sentences took account of the one third discount to which the company was entitled following early guilty pleas. The magistrates emphasised that safety must always take priority over financial considerations. Fire protection officers from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service visited the Maryland Chicken outlet, Lower Parliament Street, Nottingham in October last year and found that the fire precautions that should have been provided in the event of a fire were inadequate. This presented a serious risk to the lives of staff at the premises. Enforcement and Prohibition Notices were issued, which limited the use of the premises and required fire safety improvements. The offences in full, on or before 8 October 2012, were as follows . . . . 1. Failure to create a suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment - fine of £1,334 2. Failure to install a fire detection and warning system - fine of £2,667 3. Failure to keep emergency escape routes free from obstruction - fine of £1,667 4. Failure to ensure that emergency escape routes led to a place of safety - fine of £1,334 5. Failure to ensure that emergency escape routes were sufficiently protected from smoke or fire - fine of £2,000 6. Failure to install appropriate emergency lighting on escape routes - fine of £1,667 Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service is reminding all owners and occupiers of buildings of their legal responsibility to protect their customers and staff against the risk of fire and warning them that, where necessary, action will be taken against anyone found to be in breach of fire safety regulations. Vic McMillen, Fire Protection Group Manager, said: "We are here to provide advice and support to local businesses and are always willing to help to make sure they comply with the fire safety legislation. However, the public should continue to be reassured that we take any breaches of fire safety very seriously and will use legal sanctions where necessary."

A Marylebone pub landlord has been hit with a £35,000 fine for breaking fire safety laws and potentially putting her customers and tenants at risk after we successfully prosecuted them. Romana Chohan, who runs The Bell House, on Bell Street, pleaded guilty to seven offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and was sentenced at Hammersmith Magistrates Court on (Tuesday, 9 December). Mrs Chohan was also ordered to pay court costs of £9,000. Fire Inspectors raised concerns The business consisted of a traditional pub on the ground floor, with bedsits on the upper floors. At the time of the offences Mrs Chohan had been carrying out refurbishment work on the property. After a complaint made by a prospective tenant of one of the rooms above the pub, Westminster Council alerted us to the property. Our fire safety officers carried out an inspection in September 2012 and raised a number of concerns. These included: • inadequate fire detection in the property, • escape routes that wouldn’t offer protection from fire and smoke • failure to maintain fire extinguishers • no fire risk assessment for the property. We issued the landlord with an enforcement notice in October 2012, detailing what work needed to be done to address their concerns but after a follow-up visit in November they found that a number of the fire safety issues that had been raised still hadn’t been addressed. A further inspection was carried out on 15 January 2013. By this time, the refurbishment of the pub had been completed and it was open for business, but Mrs Chohan had still not complied with the enforcement notice and we took the decision to prosecute. London Fire Brigade’s Deputy Head of Fire Safety Regulation Mark Andrews said: “The size of the fine imposed in this case should serve as a stark reminder to landlords and business owners of their fire safety responsibilities. If, as in this case, we find they are ignoring them and are putting their customers and tenants at serious risk of fire we won’t hesitate to prosecute.” Source London Fire Brigade