A TORONTO FIRE CAPATIN'S, ACTIONS, ARE BEYOND INCOMPETENCE. HE SHOULD BE FIRED.
WHY A TORONTO FIRE CAPTAIN, WOULD CHOOSE TO PROTECT, A GREEDY LANDLORD, OVER PUBLIC SAFETY. AND SHOULD HE BE FIRED, IMMEDIATELY, FOR PUTTING THE SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC AT RISK, OVER HIS DELAYED RESPONSE, TO SERIOUS FIRE SAFETY CONCERNS?A lack of working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, are safety concerns that usually garner an immediate response from fire officials, but in this case the Toronto Fire Captain Paul Fortuna, from Ward 8, located in North York, a Toronto suburb, took no immediate actions to investigate the complaint. A lack of smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are serious fire code violations. How much more so, than in an illegally maintained and overcrowded rooming house, housing a dozen tenants or more.
The Toronto Fire Captain, Paul Fortuna, knew of the unsafe conditions involving numerous fire code violations, involving a Toronto landlord, Yingguo Ai, and took no immediate steps to ensure public safety. It was reported to the fire captain that no working smoke detectors, or carbon monoxide detectors were installed in the rooming house, located at 27 Four Winds Drive, in North York and near to the York University campus, where just a few years ago two other houses had burned down, when a fire housing students who attended the university, had spread to the house next to it and destroying both houses.
The current house located at 27 Four Winds Drive, that is part of a complex of condominium townhouses in the area and less than half a mile from where the other houses had burned down, did not get an immediate response from the Toronto Fire Services Captain, 24 hours after it was reported to the Toronto Fire Services, that there were no working smoke detectors, or carbon monoxide detectors installed, at the illegal rooming house in North York. Captain Paul Fortuna took no immediate steps, to investigate the complaint. Other serious violations also existed, including overcrowding, with about a dozen tenants, some of whom are students attending the university nearby, living there. One woman who is also a student at York University, who lived in the basement of the townhouse, which has no windows, along with the two other tenants, who are also students at the university and which like the other townhouses of the complex, has no windows and is basically an underground cellar, that the greedy owner had turned into three rental units, said that she knew of no other houses in the area with so many tenants. She says that her friends who also attended the university, has rented other houses nearby, with four or five tenants maximum. But that she had never seen a house with 12 tenants, among the townhouses in the area. She also pointed out that the rooms were also rented for $500.00 or more and that no rooms in the rooming house, were rented for any reasonable rents, such as $400.00 per month. Every tenant pays above that she says. Both students and other tenants lived in the illegal rooming house. With another nine tenants living on the first and second floors of the townhouse. The woman has also been living there for three years she said. The tenants either seem to not know their rights, or afraid to enforced it, over the landlord's blatant violations of the city bylaws, including, the fire code violations and others under the Toronto Municipal Code.
Aside from the fact that, rooming houses are also illegal in North York and for which the owner, also cannot obtain a license for, the issues of public safety in regards to the over crowding conditions and also the fire code violations, is also an immediate public safety concern. Over crowding and a lack of smoke detectors, or carbon monoxide detectors, are to be blamed for other such houses, being on fire and also claiming lives. There have been several deaths at rooming houses in Toronto and all are due to smoke and fire related issues. The landlords were never penalized by the courts, over those deaths, other than to pay a fine. No wrongful death lawsuits were ever filed against those greedy landlords. None ever went to jail over their actions. Most know how to get around the issues, involving multiple tenants, in a single family dwelling. Yingguo Ai, the owner of the rooming house, at 27 Four Winds Drive, in North York, is one such greedy landlord. He has extended the number of tenants that is legally allowed, under the current city bylaws, by more than ten tenants. Not only that he has also now been allowed to endanger their safety, by not following the safety codes, under the municipal by laws, such as the Toronto Fire Code, for the lack of working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and also those under the zoning bylaws, in regards to the illegal basement units, he has also rented out and without any windows. Not to mention the fact that the townhouse itself, should not have been turned into a rooming house, in the first place. In the former city of North York, which has now been amalgamated with the rest of the city of Toronto, that has never been allowed. Not then, or now. So how did he get away with it so far?.
And why would a Toronto fire captain, Paul Fortuna, who should also know better than to endanger the lives of the public, by his actions, also turns a blind eye to it? Why should he protect this landlord, who is clearly involved, in endangering the safety of the public?
It is the Toronto Fire Services, and specifically, Captain Paul Fortuna, of the Toronto Fire Services, which is to be blamed for the danger that he has posed to the tenants and also to the public, over those fire safety violations. I also see some corruption, being involved in this situation, as well. Why then would a Toronto fire captain, such as Captain Paul Fortuna, not investigate immediately, when there are such serious fire code violations, like a lack of smoke detectors and carbon monoxide at a rooming house? And that for twenty four hours afterwards, the tenants of the rooming house, are still waiting for the Toronto Fire Services to attend and to deal with the problem. When will this Toronto Fire Captain, Paul Fortuna, also get around to having this landlord, Yingguo Ai, installed those safety devices, as he should have already done, and to charge him, also, under the Fire Code Act, for endangering the safety of the public, by his actions?. Should it have taken a public article on the matter, to get him to act. And which he has yet to get around doing?. I hope that reading this article will also get the public involved in the matter. Contact the Captain directly, or the Toronto Fire Services and expressed your outrage, at the actions of this Toronto Fire Services captain. It is beyond incompetence and is clearly indicating that corruption is also involved as well. Also contact your local MPP for Ward 8, Anthony Perruzza at 416 338-5335, and ask him what he is doing to get this Toronto Fire Captain, Paul Fortuna, to do his job and to protect the safety of the public. As well as the other city divisions, such as the Municipal Licensing Standards, which are also supposed to investigate illegal rooming houses in North York, and to charge the landlords who are doing it. And why a rooming house with twelve tenants and no working fire alarm system, including smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, are allowed to operate in Ward 8, under his jurisdiction?. And why this landlord, Yingguo Ai, has never been charged before, for violating the Municipal Code Act, for those violations.
The Toronto Fire Service, general telephone number is: 416 338-9050, and for the North York and Ward 8, telephone number is: 416 338-9150
Fire Captain, Paul Fortuna's telephone number is: 416 338-9158.
