Landlord fined for negligence after fire breaks out at property
News Category: Industry News
Published: 03-Mar-2008
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A landlord has been fined more than £8,500 following a fire at his rental property in Fylde Road, Preston.
The Lancashire Evening Post reported that the fire broke out in one of the bedrooms of the student flats which the landlord, Shoaib Patel, had converted from a former pub.
After evacuating the properties, fire fighters discovered that the blaze had been started by a cigarette setting light to a bed.
Mr Patel was ordered by Preston Magistrates to pay the sum for failing to ensure that the property met the adequate fire safety standards, putting the lives of his student tenants at risk.
The property was found to have defective fire doors and an insufficient separation of the kitchen and stairs.
An audit on the premises also discovered emergency signs pointing towards student bedrooms.
While he admitted that he had not effected a fire risk assessment of the property, Mr Patel commented after the case: "The students are adults not primary school students. I cannot be there all the time."
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