Landlord of ‘fire trap' pub receives suspended sentence of 16 months
The former landlord of the Good Intent pub on East Street, Walworth has received a 16-month suspended prison sentence for breaking fire safety laws.
Michael Carolan of Nunhead admitted seven offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at a sentencing hearing at Inner London Crown Court on Monday (25 January).
Offences included breaching a prohibition notice, which prevented the premises from being used for living accommodation, and failing to provide an adequate system for fire detection and fire-fighting equipment.
The London Fire Brigade was alerted to fire safety issues at the public house in South London by Southwark Council in January 2012.
The property, which comprises a traditional pub on the ground floor and residential accommodation on the upper floors, was visited by fire safety officers in February and March 2012.
Following the two visits the safety officers highlighted a number of fire safety concerns including the absence of fire doors, no viable escape route from the upper floors and overloaded electrical sockets.
After the second visit, further safety breaches were identified throughout the residential part of the building. Safety officers believed it would put the lives of those living there at risk and issued a prohibition notice.
The notice prevented the upper floors from being used for sleeping or living accommodation, but on a follow up inspection officers found the pub's manager was still living there.
A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade said: "This public house was a potential fire trap and I have no doubt that if a blaze had broken out, its occupants would have been put at serious risk.
"Those responsible for buildings have a clear legal responsibility to ensure the people living and working there are safe from fire.
"In this case, not only were those responsible being flouted before we visited the premises, the leaseholder continued to ignore them even after we had carried out our safety inspection."
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