News

A landlord and owner of accommodation to let has been fined £15,000 plus £10,000 towards costs, after pleading guilty to seven charges relating to inadequate fire safety standards.

Proceedings were brought following a visit to the property, 6-8 Shirley Avenue in Southampton, on 9 May 2007 by members of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service's Fire Protection Group who found significant contraventions of fire safety measures within the building.

Judge Hope fined Mr Hoskins £2,000 per offence relating to fire safety breaches found within the premises, totalling £12,000.  A fine of £3,000 for breaching the requirements of a prohibition notice and costs of £10,000 were also awarded.

It was found that the defendant, Mr Hoskins, did not have a suitable Fire Risk Assessment for his building, which was being used as a house in multiple occupation (HMO). The building also did not have a working fire alarm to warn the tenants who slept there if a fire started.

The Fire Protection Group also discovered a number of other fire precaution failures including missing and disabled fire doors, as well as combustibles that blocked or compromised the escape routes.

Together, these failures made the situation so dangerous that Fire Officers prohibited Mr Hoskins from allowing people to live and sleep in the building.  At a subsequent inspection it was found that Mr Hoskins had allowed tenants to remain in his premises - contrary to the Prohibition Notice - exposing them to a real risk of death or serious injury had a fire started.

In summing up, Judge Hope stated that Mr Hoskins had not been fully frank and helpful to the investigating officers and had a 'cavalier attitude to fire safety'.

Speaking after the case, Tony Deacon, Southampton Group Manager said: "This is an excellent result. This case represented an individual who was clearly putting lives at risk. The fact that no-one was injured does not detract from the potentially fatal consequences if an incident had happened.

"I would like to congratulate all members of the Southampton Fire Safety Team and the Service's Enforcement Support Team for the excellent work they have done to bring about this prosecution."