An owner of an Indian restaurant in Ilkeston allowed people to sleep above his establishment in unsafe conditions. Rahim Uddin owns Agra Indian restaurant in Bath Street, in the town near the Nottinghamshire border.
Yesterday (May 18) Uddin was sentenced to nine months imprisonment suspended for 18 months following guilty pleas to four breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. He was also ordered to pay a £5,000 fine, £5,000 towards court costs, and a victim surcharge of £156, reports Derbyshire Live.
A joint investigation between Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service and Derbyshire police found evidence of people sleeping on the upper floors in unsafe conditions. On December 6, 2019, fire inspectors found there to be no fire alarm, no structural means to prevent a fire from spreading into the upper floors, and the only escape from the bedrooms was from a ladder through a hole in the floor.
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As a result of the inspection an enforcement notice was served on Mr Uddin, however, the notice was not complied with. Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service Station manager Robert Leverton said: “Had a fire occurred in this building, the lack of a fire alarm would have meant that anyone sleeping upstairs would have had an insufficient warning to get out.
"The conditions of the upper floors were so dangerous that even with an alarm, escape would have been almost impossible, this put life at risk of death or serious injury. Providers of sleeping accommodation must ensure they provide safe premises with suitable fire safety provisions for their residents.
Mr Leverton went on to say: “Sleeping accommodation above shops and commercial premises may be attractive to owners who are looking to make use of unused space. Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service urges anyone doing this to ensure all the planning and fire safety requirements are complied with – this can prevent costly remediation, unlimited fines, and potentially custodial sentences.
“Premises known to provide sleeping accommodation are regularly inspected for fire safety compliance by Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service, where the vast majority are well managed, maintained and compliant with current fire safety regulations."
For more information regarding business safety visit the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue website.
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