At a previous court hearing, Ahmed admitted six charges of failing to comply with articles under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
On Thursday, Ahmed was told to complete 250 hours of community service and ordered to pay £10,000 of prosecution costs.
Judge Graham Robinson found that there was a real risk of serious harm to people during the incident, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said.
“Mr Ahmed was wilfully not caring about the safety of individuals,” he said.
“There had been a dreadful fire, which resulted in a firefighter falling through the stairs – it could have been catastrophic and was, in my view, a near fatal fire.”
Andy Strelczenie, deputy chief fire officer, said there could have been “a catastrophic outcome” had it not been for firefighters.
“Due to the lack of fire safety systems and management within this premises, it was extremely fortuitous in this instance that people did not die,” he said.
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