TWO young men who died in a fire in a flat may have survived if their landlord had followed basic safety guidelines, a sheriff ruled yesterday.
Sheriff Charles McFarlane said the basement flat in Glasgow's west end was a ''potential death trap'' which should never have been let out by landlord Harpal Singh. Last night, the parents of one of the men called for further legal action against Mr Singh after the sheriff said his evidence was ''incredible and unreliable''.
Sheriff McFarlane's findings were in a report following a four-day fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of James Fraser and Daniel Heron, both aged 20.
Schoolfriends Mr Fraser, a student from Balmaha, and Mr Heron, a Bank of Scotland employee from Kippen, both Stirlingshire, died in the flat in Melrose Street in March 1999. Christopher Lewis, a waiter from Kippen, survived the fire.
Sheriff McFarlane said all potential means of escape from the flat were ''entirely unsatisfactory and inadequate in the event of a fire''. The inquiry found that metal bars were firmly-secured outside all the windows and that there were no fire resistant doors.
The electrical system in the flat was also deemed ''substandard and potentially dangerous'', although it was the ''careless use or disposal of smoking material'' and not an electrical fault which caused the blaze.
If properly operating smoke detectors had been installed, Sheriff McFarlane said the two men may not have died.
''The flat was a potential death trap in the event of a fire,'' he said in his report. ''In my opinion, it should never have been let out by Mr Singh to the three young men in the condition it was in.''
The sheriff also questioned the reliability of the evidence given by Mr Singh.
Mr Singh, of Monreith Road, Newlands, had insisted that the flat was fitted with two smoke detectors. But the survivor and fire investigation officers said there was only one, which was found lying dismantled on top of a freezer.
Sheriff McFarlane said he did not believe Mr Singh's claim that there was a smoke alarm attached to the hall ceiling.
He said the evidence given by Mr Singh was, at times, ''incredible and unreliable'' and that his answers to questions were ''frequently evasive''.
In the 59-page report, the sheriff also said it was ''deplorable'' that the landlord had made no attempt to return a #450 deposit to the families or to contact either of the families of the victims since the fire.
Mr Singh, who owns more than 20 properties in Glasgow, was fined #500 two weeks ago for failing to install safety equipment in a neighbouring flat.
Last night, Alexander Fraser, father of James, said he wanted further legal action against Mr Singh, and said the #500 fine levied recently was ''an insult to the memory'' of his son.
''There must be something wrong with the legal system if further action against him is not pursued. At the moment, there is a clear message being sent out to landlords that it is okay to breach safety regulations.''
The Crown Office in Edinburgh has discretion over whether further action is taken against Mr Singh regarding his evidence given in open court.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman said she could not comment as the sheriff's determination had not been studied in full.
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