Suspended jail term and massive fines after fire safety breaches

A landlord in the north of England has been given a suspended prison sentence and a huge fine for fire safety breaches.

Thirunavukkaradu Kuladaisamy pleaded guilty to the offences at Derby Magistrates Court.

They relate to a fire in a converted house two years ago.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the blaze in November 2019. 

Firefighters discovered some fire doors had no self-closers or smoke seals, the kitchen door did not close due to a lack of maintenance and the fire alarm was not working. There was no evidence of a fire risk assessment and fire extinguishers were out of test date.

Kuladaisamy was sentenced to nine months of imprisonment suspended for two years, fined a total of £50,000, ordered to pay court costs of £22,861.00 and an additional £156 as a victim surcharge for breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Commenting after the sentencing, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service Fire Protection Group Manager Lee Smith says: “Due to the lack of fire safety measures, the fire would have been much more serious putting people’s lives at risk while they slept. Quite simply this was a fire that could have had a catastrophic outcome due to the lack of fire safety measures Mr. Kuladaisamy had in place.

“The sentencing of Mr. Kuladaisamy sends out a very clear message about the severity of the fire safety breaches found at the … property and that the fire and rescue service will consider formal action against anyone where breaches of fire safety regulations are found and particularly where there is a failure to comply with any statutory notices issued.” 

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