Landlord jailed after teenage tenant suffers horrific burns
13:31 - 10/06/2010
Landlord jailed after teenage tenant ...
A landlord has been sentenced to a two-and-a-half-year jail term after a fire in one of his properties left a teenage tenant with severe burns and endangered the lives of neighbouring residents.
Both the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service brought charges against Michael Billings, the landlord in question, after the incident on 14th April 2009.
Mr Billings answered these charges at Norwich Crown Court where Judge Paul Downes handed down his prison sentence and ordered him to pay £20,000 in court costs. The sentence could be reviewed if Mr Billings pays his injured former tenant £20,000 as a show of remorse.
Layla Skalli lived in a flat above a mobile phone shop in Norwich that was owned by Mr Billings. She was just 19 years old at the time of the fire, which left her with 80% deep tissue burns all over her body and a less than 1% chance of survival. The intense 600 degree heat destroyed almost all of the skin below her neck and it took pioneering skin grafting techniques to save her life.
Tenants living in the three adjoining properties, also owned by Mr Billings, had a narrow escape. A woman living above Miss Skalli’s flat was rescued by fire-fighters as she prepared to jump for her life and the other residents climbed down a drain pipe to reach safety. A passer-by, Dominic Gale, alerted people to the fire and has since been granted a £400 reward by the courts.
Following the blaze a multi-agency investigation was launched involving Norfolk Police, HSE, Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service and Norwich City Council. There has been no conclusive judgment on the cause of the fire but it was revealed that Mr Billings had neglected to fit a working fire alarm system, had not installed the correct number of fire doors and had failed to provide an adequate means of escape. Further to this, the gas appliances in his four properties had not been properly serviced or inspected. These failures left his tenants completely unprotected.
Commenting on the case, HSE Inspector John Claxton said: “Michael Billings failed in his basic duties as a landlord and those failures nearly cost the life of a young woman. As it is, Layla Skalli has been left with both physical and emotional scars that will never completely heal. […] Landlords have duties under law to maintain their properties and ensure they are safe places for their tenants to live. Michael Billings ignored these duties.”
Perry Leeks, Operations Director at First Response Training, says: “Fire safety should be central to any health and safety policy, whatever the nature of your business. Fires can have devastating consequences, but can be avoided so long as you have the right knowledge and implement the appropriate safety measures. We offer Statutory Fire Training, which is required by law and equips staff with the skills to cope in an emergency fire situation. We also offer a more in-depth Fire Marshal course, which provides comprehensive knowledge and understanding of fire risks, prevention and fire safety and evacuation procedures.”
For further information, or to book a training course, please contact us today.
Both the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service brought charges against Michael Billings, the landlord in question, after the incident on 14th April 2009.
Mr Billings answered these charges at Norwich Crown Court where Judge Paul Downes handed down his prison sentence and ordered him to pay £20,000 in court costs. The sentence could be reviewed if Mr Billings pays his injured former tenant £20,000 as a show of remorse.
Layla Skalli lived in a flat above a mobile phone shop in Norwich that was owned by Mr Billings. She was just 19 years old at the time of the fire, which left her with 80% deep tissue burns all over her body and a less than 1% chance of survival. The intense 600 degree heat destroyed almost all of the skin below her neck and it took pioneering skin grafting techniques to save her life.
Tenants living in the three adjoining properties, also owned by Mr Billings, had a narrow escape. A woman living above Miss Skalli’s flat was rescued by fire-fighters as she prepared to jump for her life and the other residents climbed down a drain pipe to reach safety. A passer-by, Dominic Gale, alerted people to the fire and has since been granted a £400 reward by the courts.
Following the blaze a multi-agency investigation was launched involving Norfolk Police, HSE, Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service and Norwich City Council. There has been no conclusive judgment on the cause of the fire but it was revealed that Mr Billings had neglected to fit a working fire alarm system, had not installed the correct number of fire doors and had failed to provide an adequate means of escape. Further to this, the gas appliances in his four properties had not been properly serviced or inspected. These failures left his tenants completely unprotected.
Commenting on the case, HSE Inspector John Claxton said: “Michael Billings failed in his basic duties as a landlord and those failures nearly cost the life of a young woman. As it is, Layla Skalli has been left with both physical and emotional scars that will never completely heal. […] Landlords have duties under law to maintain their properties and ensure they are safe places for their tenants to live. Michael Billings ignored these duties.”
Perry Leeks, Operations Director at First Response Training, says: “Fire safety should be central to any health and safety policy, whatever the nature of your business. Fires can have devastating consequences, but can be avoided so long as you have the right knowledge and implement the appropriate safety measures. We offer Statutory Fire Training, which is required by law and equips staff with the skills to cope in an emergency fire situation. We also offer a more in-depth Fire Marshal course, which provides comprehensive knowledge and understanding of fire risks, prevention and fire safety and evacuation procedures.”
For further information, or to book a training course, please contact us today.
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