$100K fine after fire killed four ‘absolutely nothing,’ family says
Toronto public housing agency pleads guilty
Toronto’s public housing agency — Canada’s largest landlord — pleaded guilty on Thursday to violating the Ontario fire code in the case of a fire at a building for seniors last year that killed four people.
The Toronto Communi ty Housing Corporation accepted a $ 100,000 fine, the maximum penalty for the offence. But the hearing Thursday at a west- end Toronto court did little to assuage the families of the four killed in the fire on Feb. 5, 2016.
“$ 100,000 for four lives? That’s absolutely nothing,” said Narry Moussavi, whose 86- year- old mother died in the blaze.
“Just like what happened in England,” she said, referring to the massive fire at the Grenfell public housing tower in London that has caused “a crisis of faith” in Britain’s public institutions, as the Associated Press put it.
The Toronto fire, at an apartment complex at 1315 Neilson Rd. in Scarborough, started in a cluster of three chairs tucked in an alcove in a fifth-floor hallway. Inspectors found that the fire was set intentionally, and Toronto Police are still conducting an arson investigation.
During the investigation into the fire, inspectors also found several fire code violations at the public housing building.
T C HC was initially charged with three counts under the Fire Prevention and Protection Act. The Fire Department said the chairs in the alcove contravened the fire code, which prohibits any combustible materials being placed in a fire exit route. The other charges were for failing to train supervisors at the building in fire safety and failing to implement a fire safety plan.
The guilty plea marked a significant change of tack for TCHC, which had previously signalled plans to fight all the charges. On Thursday, however, court heard that TCHC and the city prosecutor had come to a resolution.
TCHC pleaded guilty to a single charge, for failing to implement the fire plan. The other two charges were withdrawn.
TCHC was quick to say that the guilty plea didn’t amount to admitting that the corporation “caused or contributed to the fire, or any loss of life, injuries or damage to the building.”
At the end of the hearing, the son of one of the victims stood up in the courtroom and publicly accused TCHC’s lawyer of treating the case lightly.
The man, who didn’t give his name, said the lawyer was laughing and joking that the case was “all about furniture.”
“I find it very offensive,” the man said. “I lost people in that fire … I lost myself.”
The lawyer, Graeme Hamilton, denied the accusation.
“That didn’t happen,” he said. “There was no conversation about furniture. They must have misheard.”
I FIND IT VERY OFFENSIVE. I LOST PEOPLE IN THAT FIRE... I LOST MYSELF.