Fire crews were on their way Monday to inspect an apartment building for the fifth time in five days when a fire broke out in the three-storey walk-up in east London, injuring two people.

One person was rescued from a third-floor unit and another was treated for smoke inhalation outside after the blaze broke out just after 11 a.m. at 1451 Oxford St. E.

“We’ve spent considerable time in that building over the last year,” deputy fire chief Gary Bridge, in charge of fire prevention, said Monday.

In fact, three tickets were issued Friday to the building owner because of improperly maintained smoke alarms.

The fire gutted a second-storey unit, blowing out a large window because of heat generated by the flames.

The building is home to about 30 people suffering from mental illness, addiction issues and disabilities.

Fire crews had to fight heavy smoke and flames, launching an aggressive attack against the blaze.

The building has been visited often by officials from the London fire department, the city’s municipal law enforcement office and the Middlesex-London Health Unit.

An organization called People Helping People lists the address on its website. but one volunteer, who declined to give her name to The Free Press, said the agency doesn’t own the building.

“We’re trying to support and help these people in various ways,” she said. “All the tenants are on (Ontario disability) and our staff are all peer-support volunteers.”

But the violations in the building, owned apparently by a company from Milton, are numerous.

The Free Press tried to contact the property owner but no one picked up the phone and the voice mail on the listed phone number wasn’t activated.

Among the recent violations:

Three tickets last week for smoke detector violations.

Tickets for doors being propped open, including to individual units, and exit signs not being lit. Fire inspectors have been in the building 10 times in the last year.

London bylaw say the building is being used as an illegal group home. It’s zoned as a residential property.

Bylaw officers also issued property standards violations because of improperly maintained windows and doors.

Health unit officials say a public health inspector has looked into complaints about sewage backup in the building and food safety concerns. Their most recent visit to the building was Oct. 28.

The residents of the building were taken to the Salvation Army Centre of Hope to stay for the night. It’s not clear when they will be allowed back into their units.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, fire officials said. Damage is pegged at $150,000.

“We’ve taken this building very seriously,” Bridge said. “The concerns aren’t violations necessarily that would ignite a fire but we need to make sure if one does start, (residents) can get out.”

People Helping People maintains an office in a storage closet in the basement of the building but each tenant has a lease with the building owner, said the volunteer who refused to give her name.

Volunteer-run services provided by People Helping People include “groups on life skills and group activities, which include crafts, cooking lessons, movies and multiple others,” according to the organization’s website.

“There is access to community resources, career placement opportunities, a continuous cleaning crew, communal kitchens and peer mentorship opportunities. Also, the dispensing of medication is done so in a controlled and scheduled environment,” the website states.

The person listed on the group’s contact page was unavailable, the volunteer who spoke to the Free Press said, because he was helping the displaced residents.

“It’s definitely not a group home,” said the volunteer in a phone interview. “We are just trying to help keep these people off the street.”

People Helping People tries to ensure the tenants get three meals a day by combining tenants’ personal care allowance and sharing food, she said.

The group is trying to fill a void for people discharged from hospital suffering from mental illness, she said.

Medication is not kept onsite and is administered by an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team of nurses from St. Joseph’s Health Care, the People Helping People volunteer said.

“ACT teams work in the community assisting clients with severe and persistent mental illness to live independently in the place of their choice and to achieve their personal, educational, and/or vocational goals,” according to the St. Joe’s website.

People Helping People has raised the problems with the building with the property owner but hasn’t had help, the volunteer said.

kate.dubinski@sunmedia.ca

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