Ipswich housing company guilty of breaching fire safety regulations
The fire service says residents were 'at risk'
Managers of a building in Ipswich have been found guilty of breaching fire safety rules - potentially putting residents in danger.
Home from Home Property Management Ltd, and company director Edward Ottley, who manage 2-100 Wolsey Street in Ipswich, were found guilty at Colchester Magistrates Court of eight offences of non-compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 following a prosecution brought by Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).
During the two week trial, the court heard an inspection of the Wolsey Street premises back in 2017 found it had aluminium composite material, similar to that found to be the cause of the Grenfell Tower fire in London just a month before.
Home from Home did carry out a fire risk assessment following the discovery - but failed to take into account the high fire risk posed to the residents by the cladding.
They also commissioned a fire risk assessor but gave them inaccurate information in connection with the level of risk.
When that became clear, the risk assessor invalidated the fire risk assessment they had produced.
Fire risk assessment updates
Two years later, in 2019, officers from SFRS attended the premises and found that the fire risk assessment had not been reviewed or updated as required.
There were also concerns raised that residents didn't have a safe means of escape in the event of a fire.
In August 2021, Home from Home appointed the services of a new fire risk assessor who corroborated the findings of SFRS.
The new fire risk assessor has now determined there is no longer a significant risk to life and the cladding is being removed.
What does the fire service say?
A spokesperson for SFRS said: “The actions by Home from Home regarding the existence of the cladding has prolonged the potential risk of harm to residents had a fire occurred.
“This is a clear message to all managing agents that fire safety is important, and as an enforcing authority Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service will not hesitate in prosecuting where lives are placed at risk.”