South East England Residential Property Managing Agents Prosecuted for Fire Safety Offences. In the early hours of 22nd April 2012 a fire occurred at a house converted to flats in Cliftonville Margate; and required a member of the public to be led to safety from the uppermost flat by the attending fire crews. Due to the nature of the incident and apparent failure to provide adequate means of warning and emergency procedures, officers from Kent Fire and Rescue Service undertook a thorough fire safety investigation. The investigation revealed a number of failures which were judged to have placed the residents of the flats within the building at significant risk in the event of a fire. A total of four charges were eventually accepted by Bridgeford & Co. Limited. The offences were * That appropriate arrangements and had not been made and given effect to for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of the preventative and protective measures in the common parts of the premises. * That the fire alarm provided in respect of the premises was not subject to a suitable system of maintenance and was not maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. Fire alarm system not maintained or working * That an employee was not provided with adequate safety training at the time she was exposed to new or increased risk because of her being given a change of responsibilities within the undertaking. * That there were no suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons were exposed which placed one or more relevant persons at risk of death or serious injury in case of fire. The Fire Authority served summonses in August 2014 and despite the defendants legal team securing an adjournment to delay the hearing the case was heard on 21st October 2014 in Canterbury Magistrates Court. Bridgeford & Co. Limited, a Residential Managing Agents pleaded guilty to the four charges relating to fire safety in the common parts of the four storey residential property located on the seafront in Cliftonville, Margate, Kent. Despite a plea for leniency from the defendant’s barrister the Magistrates awarded penalties amounting to £10,000 against Bridgeford & Co. Ltd, and awarded The Authority full costs of £16,500. Kent Fire and rescue Service would like to acknowledge the valuable advice and guidance from our Barrister David Stotesbury, the work of Karina Vickerman, lead solicitor from Kent legal Services; and to David Claxton for presenting the case. The Kent Fire and Rescue Service Press release can be located at: kent.fire-uk.org/news/news_releases/22_october_2014_landmark_court.aspx
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 10:57:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015