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A COMPANY has been ordered to pay £17,000 in fines and costs after a fire in west London in which four residents became trapped.
P.T.F. Properties Limited pleaded guilty to four breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The failures came to light following a blaze in a first-floor flat situated above a café in Hammersmith in April 2007. Eight fire engines and around 40 firefighters tackled the blaze.
Because the fire doors and fire detection system had not been properly maintained in the property, smoke and fire quickly spread and blocked the single means of escape. Four residents were trapped before they could make their escape. Two of the residents were helped to safety across a first-floor flat roof by neighbours. Another had to drop from the second floor to a first-floor terrace. The fourth resident was rescued by firefighters via a ladder.
In a recent hearing at West London Magistrates’ Court, P.T.F. Properties Limited was fined £11,000 for failing to maintain a fire alarm, failing to maintain a fire door and failing to provide a safe means of escape. The company was also ordered to pay £6,000 in costs.
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