Greater Manchester leaseholder fined for fire safety breaches

16 Nov 2012

A commercial property leaseholder in Greater Manchester is facing a substantial fine after pleading guilty to a number of fire safety breaches.
Waseem Abbas used the building on Bury Old Road in Salford as a mobile phone shop, an internet cafe and a television and radio station.
Fire protection officers visited the premises in December last year and found a number of safety failings that could have resulted in serious injuries or even death in the event of a blaze.
They discovered that the only staircase in the building, which led to the first and second floors housing a workshop, an office, a storage area and rented studios, was blocked by combustible items.
Furthermore, it had no fire doors and instead of leading to a place of safety led into the main shop. This meant that people working on the upper floors would have been trapped if a fire had broken out on the ground floor.
Their escape attempts would have been further hampered by the bars that had been fitted on some of the upstairs windows.
Officers from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service issued a prohibition notice that would prevent Mr Abbas from using the first and second floors.
On November 8th 2012 the leaseholder admitted to six offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, including failure to install a fire alarm and failure to carry out a fire risk assessment on the property.
He was fined £3,600 and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs. He has also promised not to use the upper floors of the building until he can gain permission to install an additional fire escape.
"This case shows that ignorance and failing to think about fire safety can be very costly," said Peter O'Reilly, director of prevention and protection at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
"The starting point for all businesses should be to do a fire risk assessment which will help them identify how to keep the premises safe."

From @fireindustry