The owner of an empty office block in Peterlee has been ordered to pay a £48,000 fine after nine people were found sleeping inside the building during a fire safety check.
Tarlochan Singh, 48, from Cryfield Grange Road, Coventry, was the Director of 5th Capital Limited, the owner of Ridgemount House on Bede Way, Peterlee, when concerns were raised with County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS) that people were sleeping inside the “derelict” building.
CDDFRS fire safety officers made a late-night visit to the premises and discovered nine people sleeping on the third floor.
They also found several other serious fire safety breaches which placed one or more people at risk of death or serious injury in the case of a fire.
These breaches included a failure to make a fire risk assessment, a failure to ensure the premises had appropriate fire detectors and alarms, a failure to ensure emergency exits were kept clear, failure to provide adequate emergency lighting and a lack of sufficient fire doors.
Durham Crown Court heard that in the wake of the serious breaches, CDDFRS contacted Tarlochan Singh and learned that the nine people found in the building were workers, who had been working on another building in the Peterlee area, also owned by Singh.
Singh pleaded guilty to a total of eight charges, all relating to breaches of the Fire Safety Regulatory Reform Order 2005.
Prosecutor Rosalind Scott Bell said: “He knew the state of the building and knew the workers were being housed in it.
“He must have seen the risk but he chose to take it.”
Sentencing Singh on February 24, Judge Joanne Kidd ordered him to pay a £48,000 fine within 12 months or face being jailed.
He must also pay £45,711.48 in costs.
Judge Kidd said: “These premises were fundamentally derelict and nobody could have thought they were suitable for anyone to spend any period of time in them.
“It would have been obvious to you and to anyone that they were in a state of dilapidation.
“If there had been a fire inside the building these nine men would have been very much at risk of not being able to get out of the building.”
Director Ben Cairns from CDDFRS welcomed the sentence handed to Singh.
“We were informed by the Health and Safety Executive in 2022 of concerns that people were sleeping at Ridgemont House,” he said.
“Our primary aim is to keep the people of County Durham and Darlington safe from fire.
“Our specialist Fire Safety Officers attended the premises and found this to be the case.
“The breaches of fire safety legislation were so serious that there was an immediate risk to life and the officers immediately prohibited the use of the building.
“In this case there was a serious disregard for fire safety and the risk to life was so serious that it was in the public interest to pursue prosecution.
“Whilst it has taken an extended period of time to get to this point, I welcome today’s outcome as this demonstrates our commitment to keeping the people of Durham and Darlington safe.”
CDDFRS is urging all property managers and landlords to ensure compliance with the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 and to act promptly on risk assessments and enforcement notices.
If you require support or information on your responsibilities as a property manager or landlord, please contact: FireSafety@ddfire.gov.uk
To report fire safety concerns, please visit: ddfire.gov.uk
Caption: Ridgemount House on Bede Way, Peterlee.
