Landlord Jailed

A landlord from London has been sent to prison after pleading guilty to breaches under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.  Mehmat Parlak was sentenced to serve four months and his company, Watchacre Properties Limited, was fined £21,000.  The case related to a fatal fire at a flat in Tottenham, north London, on 16 September 2007.  The offences included failing to make a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, provide adequate smoke alarms in the common parts of the premises, and ensure that routes to emergency exits from the premises and the exits were clear.

[Fire Risk Management Journal, December 2008]