A landlord has pleaded guilty to five offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 after a fire at his property in Walsall.
Pervaiz Khan was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay £8,166 in costs when he appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 8 July.
Following a fire in January 2009 at his property in Birmingham Road, which consisted of a converted house used as a HMO, investigators found that Mr Khan had failed to take general precautions to ensure the premises were safe. He had also failed to make a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, or equip the property with a fire alarm.
Arriving to tackle the blaze, firefighters found people still sleeping in the premises. A subsequent investigation revealed there was no fire alarm installed, no emergency lighting and a lack of fire resisting material to the single staircase.
