A Wokingham property manager has been ordered to pay more than £26,000 for fire safety breaches following a successful prosecution brought by Royal Berkshire Fire Authority.
Mr Artan Hyseni was issued the fine after pleading guilty to three charges under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at Reading Magistrates’ Court.
The guilty plea, which came on Wednesday, 26 March 2025, followed an extensive investigation conducted by Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2023.
The Service’s investigation found that there were three serious fire safety deficiencies at a property owned by Mr Hyseni on Reading Road, Wokingham.
The breaches included a lack of fire detection and firefighting equipment at the property, the lack of a Fire Risk Assessment and inadequate means of escape in an emergency.
Mr Hyseni was ordered to pay £6,666 for each of the three offences for which he was convicted. Combined with the victim surcharge and Fire Authority’s prosecution fees, the total fine that Mr Hyseni has been issued amounts to £26,441.35.
Rachel Bloomfield, Prevention and Protection Change and Improvement Manager at the Service, said: “This successful prosecution demonstrates to businesses that we will act where necessary to protect the public should they not take their commitments to fire safety seriously.
“We will always try to work with businesses to help keep them, their customers and our community safe. However, cases like Mr Hyseni’s show that we will take decisive action to ensure that the law is upheld if people’s safety is at stake.”
“This successful prosecution demonstrates to businesses that we will act where necessary to protect the public should they not take their commitments to fire safety seriously”
Rachel Bloomfield, Prevention and Protection Change and Improvement Manager
As well as conducting inspections and investigations, the Service’s Fire Safety Teams provide guidance to help protect businesses. You can find out more about business fire safety by visiting the ‘Your Safety’ pages on our website.