An Etobicoke case sets a precedent for laying criminal charges against a landlord of a group home for fire code violations following a fatal fire. Kate Dubinski reports

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ETOBICOKE

March 6, 2011 fire on Humber College Blvd.

56-year-old tenant died after a hot plate caught fire and flames spread to blankets.

Building was being run as a rooming house.

Property owner and landlord Jasvir Singh was convicted of criminal negligence causing death, criminal negligence causing bodily harm and four counts of criminal mischief.

The leadup: A fire inspector visited the rooming house in October 2010 and said several changes needed to be made to bring the property up to fire code.

When the inspector returned in February 2011, Singh said the building was being used as a two-unit dwelling that has less stringent fire code laws. He then switched back to operating a rooming house.

Penalties: Three years in prison plus $26,000 in victim restitution (plus court costs).

Now: Singh is appealing the conviction.

LONDON

Nov. 3, 2014 fire at 1451 Oxford St.

Tenant Dave MacPherson, 72, died from injuries sustained in the fire.

Building was being run as a group home.

Property owner Dharma Meetun and group home operator Keith Charles face 26 Fire Protection and Prevention Act charges between them.

Penalties: None yet. Fire code penalties can be up to $50,000 for individuals and up to a year in jail, and for corporations up to $100,000 in fines.

The leadup: The fire department was headed to the building for its fifth inspection in as many days to see if fire code violations had been fixed when the fatal fire broke out.

City bylaw inspectors visited the property up to a dozen times in the last year after receiving complaints. The operator, Charles, was given until February to move or get proper zoning for a group home.

Now: Charles continues to operate two unregulated group homes on Clarke Rd. Both were slapped with fire code violations last week. There also were fire code and city bylaw violations slapped against Charles and the homes’ owner Maria Anna Sleegers.

The legal precedent is there.

Now it will be up to London fire officials to work with London police and the Crown Attorney’s office to determine if a precedent-setting criminal case against an Etobicoke landlord can be used here.

“We knew that this case would be a good tool for other jurisdictions to use,” said Cathy Robertson, the captain of the Toronto Fire Services legal section.

“We worked really close together with the police and the Crown. Everyone has to be on the same page and that’s what we did.”

At the beginning of December, Etobicoke landlord Jasvir Singh was convicted of three criminal charges after a fatal fire in 2011 in one of his illegal rooming houses. He’d been slapped with fire code violations in the past, but didn’t do anything to address them, Robertson said.

Several people also were hurt in the fire. Singh also faces charges under the Ontario fire code, including not maintaining smoke alarms.

It’s the first time a landlord has been convicted and sent to prison for not following the fire code, Robertson said.

The conviction has piqued the interest of London fire officials, who have the Etobicoke case on their radar.

Last week, London deputy fire chief Gary Bridge said he’s struck by the similarities in the Etobicoke case and the fatal fire Nov. 3 at 1451 Oxford St. that was being operated as an unregulated group home by Keith Charles and his organization People Helping People.

London police are still probing whether to lay charges in the early November fire that led to the death of one resident and the relocation of more than 20 others, many with mental illnesses and addiction issues.

Toronto fire officials knew their case might be used by other jurisdictions. In fact, Robertson has forwarded the case to the Canadian Fire Prevention Officers association and has offered to talk to London officials.

“Once you have the case law, it’s easier to prosecute,” she said. “It’s a good tool for other fire departments to use.”

kate.dubinski@sunmedia.ca

twitter.com/KateatLFPress

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Fire code and bylaw violations aside, Keith Charles’ two remaining group homes sit on a parcel of land that the owner is trying to rezone and sell.

The two unregulated group homes run by Charles’ People Helping People are at 585 and 587 Clarke Rd.

Charles leases the homes from Maria Sleegers. Charles said there are five tenants at 585 and eight at 589 Clarke Rd.

Sleegers hasn’t returned phone calls from The Free Press, nor did anyone answer the door at her home at 587 Clarke Rd., a small home between the two unregulated group homes.

Sleegers also owns 1925 Culver Dr. on the same parcel of land. That, until recently, was known as Combine Centre East, a sports training facility.

Sleegers has applied to sever the Culver Dr. property from the Clarke Rd., property and to change the zoning of the Culver Dr. parcel of land to include a place of worship.

Michelle Doornbosch of Zelinka Priamo Ltd., planners, is listed as the applicant seeking to sever the two pieces of land. She could not be reached Tuesday.

A realty listing dated Nov. 16, 2014, says the 1.6 acres that the three Clarke Rd. homes sit on is expected to be severed by March 2015 from the Culver Dr. property that housed the training facility.

“Property being sold as a redevelopment opportunity,” the listing says. The list price is $499,000.

Right now the Clarke Rd. properties are zoned for commercial use, but Sleegers has applied to change the zoning to include single-family residential homes.

Broker Michael Duffy, the listing agent, couldn’t be reached Tuesday.