Landlords fined $89K for fatal basement fire

The landlords of a Calgary rental home where three people died in a basement fire in January have been fined $89,700 for violating several provincial safety and public health laws.

Akif and Bushra Amin, who own the property at 515 33rd St. N.W., were not present in provincial court Monday, but in a surprise move, entered guilty pleas to several charges. A two-week trial had been scheduled to begin on Monday.

The couple faced five charges under the Alberta Fire Code, each carrying a penalty of up to $15,000 and six months in jail:

• Two counts of failing to ensure each bedroom within a secondary suite has at least one window that meets the requirements of the Alberta Building Code.
• Two counts of failing to ensure that security bars on bedroom windows can be opened from the inside without the use of any tools or special knowledge.
• One count of failing to ensure that smoke alarms are installed by permanent connections to an electrical circuit and wired so that activation of one smoke alarm causes all smoke alarms to sound within both upstairs and downstairs units.

The landlords also pleaded guilty to several safety violations under the Public Health Act and Minimum Housing & Health Standards.

3 victims died in hospital

Four people were pulled unconscious from the early-morning fire on Jan. 26.

Tiffany Cox, 19, Colleen Mantei, 23, and Jonathan St. Pierre, 19, later died in hospital. A fourth woman was treated for severe smoke inhalation and released from hospital.

Fire officials determined that a space heater placed too close to a couch started the blaze. They said the basement suite's sole smoke detector was not working.

'These landlords are laughing. You've got all these codes in place and these joke fines. It's a cost of doing business for them, really, and we've lost our kids.' —Mitzi Halliday, victim's mother

Provincial court Judge Sandra Hamilton fined Akif Amin $86,250 for fire code violations and $2,875 for the public health offences. Bushra Amin was fined $575.

Hamilton ruled that $6,500 of the fine is due on Tuesday, while the balance is due within 18 months.

Mitzi Halliday, Cox's mother, said the penalty won't make an impact on landlords.

"These landlords are laughing. You've got all these codes in place and these joke fines. It's a cost of doing business for them, really, and we've lost our kids," Halliday told CBC News.

"We have to live the rest of our lives with that and I'm angry they're not here today because I want to see them. I want them to see me. I want them to see what you've done to these families."

Halliday said she and the parents of the other victims are considering taking legal action against the Amins.

Meanwhile, Ald. Bob Hawkesworth has asked city council to consider requiring that sprinkler systems be installed in all new homes built in Calgary.