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A residential landlord has been found guilty of fire safety breaches,following a fire where his tenants were forced to flee for their
lives. Joseph
Ernest Draper, then owner of 9 Hillsborough Terrace, in Ilfracombe,
Devon, pleaded guilty to four offences under the Fire Safety Order
2005.
Appearing
at Exeter Crown Court on 29 March, Mr Draper was ordered to pay a
total of £135,000 in fines and £23,000 in costs. It
follows a fire at the four-storey building on 14 February 2008. The
building had been subdivided into flats. The fire, which started on
the ground floor, spread throughout the property and forced some of
the 13 tenants to make their escape by clambering over the roof.
After
the fire Devon and Somerset fire investigators carried out a safety
audit of the premises.
They
found that the door giving entrance to the ground floor flat was
inappropriately constructed to resist fire, which enabled a fire in
the said flat to spread into the escape route. The offence carried a
fine of £75,000.
The
three other offences cost £20,000 each, for three doors that had no
self closing device fitted. This also impacted on fire spread to the
means of escape. Devon
and Somerset area manager Nick Manning, said: “Landlords and owners
of properties used as flats should take notice of the outcome of this
case - it has sent a clear message with the level of the fine
awarded."
www.info4fire.com
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