Fire Code violation costly for downtown landlord

Failing to provide working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms has cost a downtown St. Catharines property owner several thousand dollars.

Lane Luck pleaded guilty in Ontario Court of Justice last Friday to five Ontario Fire Code violations at 144 Church St.: two counts of not having working smoke alarms and three counts of not having a working carbon monoxide alarm outside of each sleeping area, as required by the Ontario Fire Code.

One unit at the property was missing working smoke alarms and working carbon monoxide alarms while a second unit was missing a working carbon monoxide alarm.

St. Catharines fire Chief Dave Wood says landlords must protect their tenants from the dangers of fire and carbon monoxide.

“All homes require working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, it’s the law,” he says.

The court fined Luck $1,750 for each smoke alarm violation and $1,400 for each carbon monoxide violation for the total of $7,700 plus court costs and victim fine surcharges.

Ontario law requires working smoke alarms on every storey of a unit and outside all sleeping areas of a property. The law also requires working carbon monoxide alarms outside sleeping areas in all units where a fuel-burning appliance is installed or shares a common wall or floor with a service room containing such an appliance or an attached garage.

Visit www.stcatharines.ca/fire for more information about smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, provincial requirements and other home safety tips.