A RETIRED Dawlish estate agent has been fined £8,600 for breaches of fire safety regulations at a property in the town.

Property management agent David Force pleaded guilty to three charges relating to his premises in Queen Street when the case was heard by magistrates in Newton Abbot.

The Queen Street property is used as commercial business on the ground floor and a privately let flat above.

He was ordered to pay full prosecution costs of £8,659 to the local authority, the fine level awarded being the maximum under sentencing rules.

The court also ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £190.

After the hearing, Mr Force said he felt the fire service made an example out of him after he says it took them 14 years to follow up on initial concerns over the safety of his Dawlish property.

He admitted he was guilty of ‘wrongdoing’ but insisted he would never have put anyone’s life at risk.

He claims Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue service was ‘slack’ in its practices by sending a notification by letter to an incorrect address which he never received and taking more than a decade to make another visit.

Mr Force, who has been in business for more than 30 years, explained: ‘I have a certain standing in Dawlish and it is unthinkable I would have deliberately broken the law in any way, particularly to endanger life.’

He admitted the charges under the Regulatory Reform Order 2005 which included compartmentation, fire separation failures between businesses and the flat; not having completed a fire risk assessment for the premises and failing to provide a suitable means of escape from the flat.

Concerns were raised in 2021 by business safety officers from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service over ‘unsafe practices’ including structural failures, not having a fire risk assessment and a lack of escape.

The officers decided the premises were ‘dangerous’ to the tenant who lived in the flat and that they could not remain there ‘with immediate effect’.

According to safety officers, this was because if a fire were to break out on the ground floor, the occupier of the flat, who was considered to be vulnerable as they were elderly with disabilities, would not be able to escape safely.

Following an investigation, the fire service decided to take Mr Force to court.

It determined conditions at the flat were ‘so far below acceptable standard’ that they put people at risk of death or serious injury in the event of a fire.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said: ‘The investigation found Mr Force had know that the premises did not have adequate means of escape in case of fire in 2009.

‘Despite this, he continued to take rent from a vulnerable person for a number of years despite knowing the flat was unsafe to occupy.’

After the court hearing, Glen Wells, business safety legal support officer, said: ‘Fire safety legislation is there for a reason, to ensure that people are safe in buildings should a fire occur and can safely evacuate should they need to do so.

‘Where owners provide accommodation, they must do so with all the required and appropriate safety measures in place.

‘Where persons respoonsible for premises know that fire safety measures are poor and dangerous, or they knowingly allow poor fire safety standards, putting profits before safety, they will be held to account.’

Mr Force has been contacted for a response.