A serious fire at a converted church building in Preston has resulted in substantial fines for the property’s owner and director after safety breaches that included an inadequate fire alarm system.
Emergency services battled a fire on 9 January 2020 at the converted St Luke’s Church in the Deepdale area of Preston.
The fire began in the kitchen of a self-contained flat on the ground floor before quickly spreading through the building.
The ground floor of the church contained 10 flats while the first floor was a 13-bed HMO used as student accommodation.
Tenants who activated the fire alarms found that it did not sound to alert other tenants. The smoke detectors were equally ineffective. It was only because tenants woke up those sleeping through their own efforts that the consequences were not more severe.
An investigation by Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service found that there was an inadequate fire alarm system, substandard doors, poor compartmentation, inadequate fire safety management and no fire risk assessment.
St Lukes (Preston Ltd) and its director Sean Broadhurst pleaded guilty to breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 on 19 May this year.
The business was ordered to pay £60,000 plus costs while Broadhurst was fined £17,000 plus costs at Preston Crown Court today (26 June).
Matthew Hamer, Head of Prevention and Protection at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “This case highlights the critical importance of robust fire safety measures and the legal responsibilities of property owners and managers to ensure the safety of occupants.
“The absence of a functioning alarm system and other critical protections placed lives at risk. We welcome the court’s recognition of the seriousness of these breaches and hope this serves as a clear message to all property owners and managers about their legal and moral responsibilities.”
St Luke’s Church was first opened in 1859 before being declared redundant in 1990. It was converted into flats after being approved for residential use in 1995.
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