Seven charges have been laid against a landlord renting out a basement suite that caught fire Jan. 26.
The fire tore through the home at 515 33rd Ave. NW, putting the four tenants in hospital, where three have since died.
The charges, laid by Alberta Health Services, include failure to ensure housing premises were safe, failure to ensure smoke alarms were operational and in good repair, and failure to ensure that the security bars on the bedroom windows — which some speculate led to the victims being trapped – could be opened from inside without the use of tools or special knowledge.
AHS-Calgary Environmental Health responded to 2,100 rental-property complaints in 2008.
