Since Warwick Estates took over the day to day running of The Victory apartment complex in Oldham, we've seen a well managed block of apartments go to rack and ruin, with breaches of fire safety, and breaches of other health and safety so serious that Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service issued a prohibition notice, ordering residents to leave our homes. The failures of Warwick Estates are shocking. We discovered that the fire alarm system was faulty, which caused Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to stop responding to it. The fire safety, and other health and safety failures of Warwick Estates are so serious that the company should be disqualified from acting as a managing agent. Warwick Estates is responsible for managing fire safety, and all health and safety, and for managing the checks, servicing and maintenance of the fire safety systems and fire prevention systems, but they failed us miserably. They take our money but do little with it in terms of keeping us safe. This is just another instance of Warwick Estates gambling with people's lives and wellbeing. Fortunately the authorities intervened in time to prevent a catastrophe this time. But Warwick Estates' reputation is already in ruins, and events unfolded quite differently when Warwick Estates failed to ensure maintenance of a lift in another apartment block which led to a fatality. It's a game to Warwick Estates, taking service charge money, doing as little work as they can, then hoping nobody finds out about any serious breaches of fire safety or other health and safety failures. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service found there was a risk of the spread of fire on the premises which was posed by significant defects to fire doors, holes in fire resisting construction and a defective fire warning and smoke ventilation system. They also found that in the event of fire, smoke and fire would affect the means of escape, preventing a full and safe evacuation. It appears that Warwick Estates just does not understand, and does not consider it important to have functional fire safety systems. It was no surprise to learn that the current fire safety arrangements, managed by Warwick Estates, were deemed after inspection, to be inadequate and in parts defective, resulting in residents being ordered to leave our homes. Fire extinguishers were missing, smoke alarms appeared to be broken, the fire alarm system displayed numerous warnings and faults, a smoke vent in the roof was wide open, carpet was missing from stairways, and doors which should have been securely protecting utilities, including electricity, were swinging open. If you consider fire safety to be essential in your block of apartments then do not appoint Warwick Estates as a managing agent.