A company that owned warehouses in Yiewsley destroyed by a fire which raged for 11 hours has been prosecuted for breaking fire safety laws.
Bourne End (Investments) must pay nearly £40,000 in fines and legal costs following a fierce fire at Rainbow Industrial Estate in Trout Road, on March 11 2011.
At the height of the blaze, 20 fire engines and more than 100 firefighters were working to extinguish it.
No one was injured, but around 40 people living nearby and 30 employees were evacuated.
The Brigade was called at 11.21am, and the fire was brought under control at 10.24pm.
The estate was later demolished. Just last week, plans to rejuvenate the site and build flats, business space and a dementia home were approved by Hillingdon Council.
When fire brigade safety inspectors visited the site, they found that the fire alarm system had not been properly maintained, and no fire risk assessment had been undertaken.
The firm admitted to these two offences, under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. A fine of £10,000 was handed down for each, and it is also liable to pay the prosecution's costs of £19,514.
A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: "This was a very serious fire which not only destroyed a number of businesses but also disrupted the lives of many people.
"The fact that the alarm system on the industrial estate was not being properly maintained could also have put people’s lives seriously at risk and it is fortunate that no-one was injured.
"Building owners have a responsibility under fire safety law to make sure that people working in or visiting their premises are safe from fire and if they ignore those responsibilities we won’t hesitate to prosecute."
Bourne End (Investments), an estate management company based in Finchley, north London, was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, January 17.
