Director fined over misleading fire risk assessment information

A property management company and its director have been fined and given a suspended custodial sentence for giving “misleading information to a fire risk assessor” over the cladding used at apartment blocks in Ipswich.

The successful prosecution was brought by Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and follows a Crown Court trial at Colchester Magistrates Court in which Home from Home Property Management Ltd and company director Edward Ottley were found guilty of eight offences. Four of these offences were for non-compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 by Home from Home while the four other offences were for “failing to comply with the legislation” by Ottley.

As previously reported by the FPA, aluminium composite cladding material was found to have been used at the residential properties at 2-100 Wolsey Street in July 2017. Home from Home later appointed a company to carry out a fire risk assessment; however, the assessment “did not take into account the high fire risk posed to the residents by the cladding”.

As Suffolk County Council explains: “The fire risk assessor had been given inaccurate information by Home from Home in relation to the level of risk from the cladding.

When this became apparent, the assessor invalidated the fire risk assessment he had produced, advising Home from Home to arrange for a new assessment to be undertaken.

In 2019, officers from SFRS attended the premises and identified the fire risk assessment remained that of the original company, and the assessment still did not address the risk of the cladding.”

SFRS also found other areas of non-compliance, relating to “ensuring the means of escape was safe, that automatic opening vents operated correctly, ensuring the premises was equipped with a suitable fire alarm system, and for ensuring residents knew what to do in the event of a fire to enable them to evacuate the building safely”.

In August 2021, a new fire risk assessor was appointed “to ensure there is no longer a significant risk to life”, and the council reported that the property management company was “working towards the removal of the cladding with government funding support”.

At the sentencing in July 2024, Ottley was given 10 month’s imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to perform 120 hours of unpaid work.

The company Home from Home was fined £60,000. SFRS was also awarded £49,500 in costs, divided equally between Ottley and Home from Home.

This sentence reflects the severity of the potential risk to residents from Home from Home’s actions had a fire occurred,” a spokesperson for SFRS said.

SFRS Protection Officers actively work to ensure premises are compliant with fire safety legislation.

The inadequate fire safety measures and management in this case could have resulted in serious injury or loss of life and we hope this will send a clear message to all managing agents of the importance of fire safety.

SFRS is committed to working with those willing to address fire safety issues, but as an enforcing authority will not hesitate in prosecuting where lives are placed at risk.”

The Suffolk County Council Cabinet Member for Public Protection, Councillor Steve Wiles said:

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service rightly maintains the highest standards when it comes to public safety, and I am pleased to see that the court has supported that position.

The safety and wellbeing of the public is paramount, and when the actions of companies such as Home from Home undermine that it is only right that they are held to account.”