Fire Safety Act 1993 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 2 · Fire Hazard in Premises
26. Offence for owner or occupier to cause, etc., specified fire hazard
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An owner or occupier of any building commits an offence if the owner or occupier causes, or does or omits to do anything that is likely to cause, a specified fire hazard to arise at the building.
occupier
“occupier”, in relation to any premises, means the person in occupation of the premises or having the charge, management or control thereof and, in relation to any part of any premises different parts of which are occupied by different persons, means the person in occupation or having the charge, management or control of that part;
An owner or occupier of any building commits an offence if the owner or occupier knows or ought to know that —
there is a specified fire hazard in the building; or
a specified fire hazard is likely to arise at the building,but does not take reasonable steps to abate the specified fire hazard or prevent the specified fire hazard from arising, as the case may be.
In a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1), it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that the defendant intended to cause a specified fire hazard to arise at the building.
specified fire hazard
“specified fire hazard”, in relation to a building, means —(a)the overcrowding of a building that is a public building such as might render escape in the event of fire more difficult;(b)any fire safety measure in the building that is not in proper working order, whether because of lack of proper maintenance or for any other reason; or(c)the obstruction of escape routes, passageways, common property or limited common property of the building such as might render escape in the event of fire more difficult;
The offence under subsection (1) is a strict liability offence.[12A