A Penge business has been fined more than £40,000 after a fire ravaged an elderly care home.

The inferno at Burrows House, Derwent Road, broke out on October 14 in 2013 after an electrically operated armchair caught alight.

Fifty-five residents were evacuated from the care home and an 84-year-old woman was placed in intensive care following the blaze.

In total GCH (Burrow House) Ltd, which runs Burrows House, was hit with fines and costs totalling £42,966.

Although the fire was contained to a first-floor wing of the home, the 84-year-old was put on a life support machine and spent more than a month in hospital.

One of the most serious failures of the business was to have furniture blocking the hallways and fire escapes.

The company was also in breach of rules for wedging fire doors open and failing to keep firefighting equipment in working order - they also had no fire risk assessment.

The company pleaded guilty to the three offences in August (2013).

London Fire Brigade’s assistant commissioner for fire safety, Dan Daly, said: “This was a very serious fire which nearly saw someone lose their life.

“Protecting London’s most vulnerable residents is our priority.

“Families entrust the care of their loved ones to places such as this, and to find people being put at risk from fires in places where they should be safe in this way is totally unacceptable.”

GCH (Burrow House) Ltd, were fined £10,000 for each offence under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and ordered to pay the brigade full court costs of £12,966.

Representatives for the company were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday (November 3).