The Ontario government has announced new fire protection laws across the province. These will be strengthened, meaning hefty fines to those who fail fire system inspections.
/
Frank Donati, coordinator of Fanshawe’s Fire Inspection and Fire Safety program says the changes to the province’s fire code come after gaps on what it is allowed to do in the fire industry in regards to buildings insurance and safety measures.
/
“The changes covered the ability to execute under the legislative of authority and also, dealt with some of the changes because of the legalization of marijuana,” he adds.
/
He says that the new laws will help to ensure compliance to existing building systems in case of a fire.
/
“When buildings are built under the building code [once they are occupied], then the fire code kicks in. The fire code is there to make sure buildings stay safe and systems are maintained so buildings operate the way they should in case of a fire.”
/
The provincial government has increased penalties, specifically for repeat offenders and those who fail fire inspections.
/
“A year and a half ago in Toronto, there was a big case about a company that was falsifying its inspection record,” says Donati, “as an inspector to be able to lay a charge, you have to do a lot of research and believe it or not all that takes quite a bit of time and sometimes 6 months is just not enough.”
/
Now, the new law says that fire departments are able to initiate prosecutions to one year after they become aware of an offence.
/
“In the past, if [you] broke the rule and then you got charged and fined, for example, corporations would pay up to $100,000. Now, if you get charge again for that same thing, the maximum penalty for a corporation could potentially be up to a million dollars on a second offence.”
