Are you mad,
Definitely not to be run like this without coals.
You need to contact the manufacturer and get the pictures of the coals effect layout to ensure that they are the correct coals & correctly positioned and operation of the fire iaw M.I's.
Failure to do this could would result in operation NOT iaw M.I's and possible generation of CO and you would be bonkers to allow this to happen leaving you wide open to causing injury/fatality & prosecution.
If you cannot clearly ascertain the correct layout of the coals, isolate the fire and advise customer of reasons why, contact manufacturer for clarification.
Advise that worst case scenario if there is no solution then the fire will need to be permanently isolated or removed to ensure the safety of the tenant/homeowner,
Cheers,
Andy