Rooming house landlord jailed for fire code violations
A landlord of a rooming house on King St. has been sentenced to seven days in jail and two years of probation after the house was repeatedly found to be in violation of Ontario Fire Code regulations.
Meanwhile a complaint over fire safety concerns at a rooming house on Rubidge St. and a commercial property on George St. N. has also led to $15,000 in fines after the owner of the two properties failed to address identified Ontario Fire Code violations.
The convictions follow the city’s recent attempts to crack down on rooming houses in the city that violate safety regulations. New city rules allow the city to send in inspectors to ensure rooming houses conform with the fire code.
Sean Paul Cowling pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that each floor area shall be served by at least two exits on Thursday before justice of the peace Karen Walker in the Ontario Court of Justice in the King St. rooming house case.
Other fire code offences have been withdrawn because the property is no longer occupied, according to a release from the city.
The city fire department conducted a fire safety inspection at the property on King St. in September 2016 that led to a $10,000 conviction in September 2017 for failing to comply with an inspection order.
Later in September 2017, a fire safety complaint was received regarding the same five-bedroom house on King Street that was being occupied by 15 students, according to the city. Another fire safety inspection found that none of the previously identified fire code issues had been addressed by the owner.
“Peterborough Fire Services works with property owners when seeking compliance with the Ontario Fire Code,” stated Cathy Robertson, chief fire prevention officer.
“Most property owners comply with inspection orders; however, sometimes we need to seek compliance through the court system. We want to ensure all residents of our city are safe from fire. A jail sentence by the court in relation to fire code violations is unusual and reflects the repeated failure to comply with the safety regulations.”
Meanwhile Si Hwa Liou was also fined $15,000 for not addressing Ontario Fire Code violations at a rooming house on Rubidge St. and a commercial property on George St. N., also on Thursday in Ontario Court of Justice in Peterborough.
The city fire department conducted a fire safety inspection in March 2016 at a Rubidge St.rooming house after a complaint, according to the city. Many fire safety concerns were identified in an inspection order.
Liou was found guilty of failing to comply with an inspection order in the Rubidge St. rooming house case and fined $10,000.
Liou is also the administrator of 1695213 Ontario Inc. that owns the George St. N. commercial property. The property was inspected in March 2016 due to fire safety complaints, according to the city. Inspectors visited the property and found that no work had been done to correct the violations of the Ontario Fire Code.
Liou was found guilty of failing to comply with the inspection order for the George St. N. commercial property and fined $5,000.
The city did not release the specific address of the rooming houses and the commercial building.
Robertson is reminding residents to ensure they have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and to practise home escape planning.
NOTE: People can contact the fire department at 705-745-3284 for code compliance inquiries and fire safety complaints.