TCHC fined $100K for fatal fire
Pleads guilty to charge of failing to implement fire safety plan
The Toronto Community Housing Corporation pleaded guilty Thursday to a provincial offence in a fire that killed four people at one of its Scarborough residences last year.
The guilty plea comes with a $100,000 fine — the maximum penalty for the charge of failing to implement a fire safety plan in the blaze at 1315 Neilson Rd. on Feb. 5, 2016.
In its defence, the TCHC said the charge to which the corporation pleaded guilty didn’t allege that it was responsible for starting the fire, loss of life, injuries sustained or damages. Two other fire-code violation charges — placing combustible materials in a hallway and failing to adequately train staff on fire safety — were dropped by the prosecution.
The plea came amid admonishments by family members who said the penalty is inadequate.
Narry Moussavi, who lost her mom Azeema Safraj in the fire, said the fine was “absolutely nothing” compared to the harm caused by the loss of four lives.
She believes that the residents of 1315 Neilson Rd., were neglected due to a number of social factors, including age and economic status. “When you have money, you have status,” she said. “I am very upset about all this.” Graeme Hamilton, the lawyer representing TCHC, said Toronto Fire Services is now satisfied with the implementation of the fire safety plan at the location, and that the corporation has taken “positive steps” toward preventing a similar tragedy from occurring in the future.
He denied accusations by family mem- bers that the case was being taken lightly by TCHC and expressed “heartfelt sympathy” to those affected by the fire.
Deputy fire Chief Jim Jessop said Toronto Fire Services fully supports the decision. He said that the dropped charges regarding combustible materials in the hallway and inadequate training are covered by the fire safety plan.
“So by failing to implement the approved fire safety plan, the other two violations that we noted were part of that charge,” Jessop said.
He added that a criminal investigation into the fire, which he described as “intentionally set” is ongoing. Jessop said the “fuel for the fire” was three chairs that were present in the building’s fifth-floor alcove.
Hamilton said that TCHC has the intention of assisting the fire marshal and police with the investigation.
Councillor Neethan Shan (Ward 42, Scarborough-Rouge River) said that the fine is an important “first step” in responding to the tragedy.
“I don’t think the $100,000 fine or the acknowledgement of what went wrong goes far enough to do justice to the magnitude of the impact of this tragedy in our community,” he said.
“I would like to see some evidence that this is accidental, not systemic.”
Shan acknowledged that TCHC has a long-standing resource problem, and that it needs to do a better job of serving seniors. He added that it is important to investigate whether social factors, or a lack of resources, may have contributed to the loss of life.
Meanwhile, the families of those who passed away are trying to move on while honouring the memories of their kin.
Fitzpatrick Richmond, the son-in-law of Charles and Hyacinth Roberts, who died in the fire, said remembering them brings back painful memories of their untimely passing. But he takes comfort that they were together until the end.
“This past year-and-a-half, it’s very painful,” Richmond said.