Two property owners have pleaded guilty to multiple violations of the Ontario Fire Code as well as a Planning Act violation for a fire at an unlicensed rooming house earlier this year that killed a tenant.
The two-alarm blaze at a home in north Etobicoke in the early hours of Feb. 22 killed a 21-year-old woman and sent a man to hospital.
One of the property owners was fined $34,500, a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge and court costs for Ontario Fire Code violations, and $1,000 for using a building for a non-permitted purpose in a violation against the Planning Act. The other received suspended sentences for the same violations.
The court also imposed probation orders against both property owners for two years, including that they not operate any multi-unit residential home unless the property complies with all applicable statutes and regulations.
The Ontario Fire Marshal and Toronto Fire Services determined that the cause of the fire was "accidental smoking."
"This terrible fire is a grim reminder that violations of the Fire Code in boarding, rooming and lodging houses can pose serious risks and result in tragic consequences," Toronto Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop said in a media release.
Link to original article in CBC.ca: Property owners plead guilty to fire code violations after fatal Etobicoke blaze