Fire safety offences see care home directors fined £125k

Two directors of a care home business have been fined £125,000 after having been found in breach of 12 fire safety regulations.

Thuraisamy Ravichandran and Radha Ravichandran – both directors of of Care Pro (Southeast) Limited, run a care home business in the Bexhill-on-Sea area. Four of their sites were inspected by East Sussex Fire and Rescue officers in October and November 2022.

Officers found 12 breaches across the four sites. These included a failure to discharge their duties to take general fire precautions at the care homes (Article 8), a failure to provide adequate firefighting and fire detection equipment (Article 13), and a failure to carry out and record a “suitable and sufficient” fire risk assessment (Article 9).

According to East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, all four premises had defective or missing fire alarm systems.

Officers discovered damage to fire doors and a lack of self-closures. The fire doors separated the only means of escape from fire risk rooms, such as bedrooms, kitchens and lounges.

Fire risk assessments were not current, suitable or sufficient - they did not consider the failings Fire and Rescue had identified.

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Sentencing the defendants, District Judge Szagun agreed the offences were high culpability, with a medium level of harm.

However, District Judge Szagun raised the level of harm to a higher level. She considered the number of vulnerable residents placed at risk as a significant factor, as this risk was heightened with defective fire doors and a lack of detection and alarms.

The judge added that the owners should have taken the time to understand published regulations and guidance when providing this type of service.

The defendants were fined £27,500 per offence for four of the offences. Guilty charges were upheld for the remaining eight offences, but no separate penalty was awarded.

Thuraisamy Ravichandran and Radha Ravichandran were fined £110,000, with a £2,000 victim surcharge and £12,455 costs.

Prosecuting the case, Group Protection Legislation and Enforcement Manager, Craig Williams said:

“The fire service considers this one of the most serious cases we have ever prosecuted due to a number of offences found in various premises operated by the company.

“The fine handed down by the court today reflects the serious nature of the offences. Owners and those responsible for any premises where the fire service find fire safety contraventions are reminded of the potential consequences, including unlimited fines and potential custodial sentences.”