LANDLORD FINED $3,600 AFTER FIRE AT FOUR-PLEX IN GRAVENHURST

GRAVENHURST — A fire in a four-plex has resulted in several citations being issued to the Brampton based landlord.

Gravenhurst Fire officials said in a release Thursday that an investigation into conditions at his Bishop Street residence four-plex was prompted by a fire call Tuesday (Oct. 29).

They say that at about 9 p.m. Firefighters were called to a fire in a four-unit apartment and found that a small electrical fire had occurred in one of the units.

Firefighters discovered that there was an absence of adequate and up-to date smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

And follow-up by fire inspectors Thursday led them to charge the owner with five counts of “fail to install smoke alarms where required,” as well as an identical number of “fail to install carbon monoxide alarms where required”, charges.

The charges were laid on the spot via Provincial offences notices with a total of $3,600 in fines.

In addition, the owner of the building is facing an “order” under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act to remedy deficiencies in the building.

“The notion of a landlord failing to adequately safeguard their tenants with basic measures such as alarms is simply intolerable in this day and age,” said Breyan Sinnott, fire prevention officer.

“Though the landlord is cooperating fully at this point in time, all landlords must understand their responsibilities under the legislation, ‘I didn’t know’ doesn’t wash anymore,” she said.

“After meeting with the owner of the building today and explaining the work necessary on the other items, we’ll be taking active steps to monitor the changes in the building that are necessary to bring it into compliance with the Fire Code,” added Sinnott, who added other deficiencies in the building relate to storage, lighting, electrical shortcomings as well as some structural issues.

“It’s becoming very common for us to take a collaborative approach to these issues, and in this case, the Building Department, Electrical Safety Authority and some other agencies are also involved.

“We’re fortunate in this circumstance that the fire was noticed when it was, and that our firefighters were able to respond so quickly. Had the fire started in the middle of the night, the outcome could have been devastating for the eight occupants of this building”.

For more information about any fire safety matter, you can call the fire department at 705-687-3414.