A serious fire that broke out in a converted church building in Preston has led to significant penalties for both the owning company and its director. St Lukes (Preston) Ltd was fined £60,000 plus costs, while company director Sean Broadhurst was personally fined £17,000 plus costs, following sentencing at Preston Crown Court.

The incident occurred in the early hours of 9 January 2020, when a fire started in the kitchen of a self-contained flat on the ground floor. The fire quickly spread throughout the building. The property contained ten general needs flats on the ground floor and a 13-bed House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) on the first floor, mainly occupied by students.

When tenants attempted to raise the alarm, triggering manual call points and smoke detectors in the escape routes, the automatic fire alarm system failed to provide an audible warning. Fortunately, tenants managed to wake and evacuate fellow residents themselves, averting tragedy.

Following the incident, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service conducted a thorough investigation, uncovering several serious failings in fire safety. These included a non-functioning fire alarm system, inadequate fire doors, poor compartmentation, lack of fire safety management, and the absence of a fire risk assessment.

Guilty Pleas and Charges

On 19 May this year, both St Lukes (Preston) Ltd and Sean Broadhurst admitted to breaching the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The charges were as follows:

• St Lukes (Preston) Ltd – Breach of Article 8
• Sean Broadhurst – Breaches of Articles 8 and 9

Area Manager Matthew Hamer, head of prevention and protection at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, said:

“This case highlights the critical importance of robust fire safety measures and the legal responsibilities of property owners and managers to ensure the safety of occupants.”

He added:

“The absence of a functioning alarm system and other critical protections placed lives at risk. We welcome Preston Crown Court’s recognition of the seriousness of these breaches and hope this serves as a clear message to all property owners and managers about their legal and moral responsibilities.”

View the source.

Our eNews provides regular insight into industry trends, news headlines, and product and service information. For more articles like this Subscribe to our enews.