THUNDER BAY -- A fire in a second story Park Avenue apartment Tuesday has forced the building’s residents from their homes and into the care of the Red Cross.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit had a long list of reasons why nobody should be living in that apartment even before the fire.
A health violation notice was posted on March 8, after a number of issues were discovered including a rodent infestation, leaking sewer pipes and rotten stairs.
Used needles were also found all over the building along with blood splatter.
Health Unit officials claim the landlord has done nothing to correct the violations and they’ve recently brought legal action against him.
Health manager Lee Sieswerda said substandard housing is a growing concern with properties owned by a select few landlords.
“They have buildings that they’ve allowed to deteriorate and become hazardous for their tenants and then what happens? You have to send in public health, fire, bylaw and eventually even the courts have to get involved,” Sieswerda said.
“It shouldn’t be like this. The standards that we’ve set out are not difficult to comply with it’s not that hard to clean up used needles, it’s not that hard to fix broken stairs.”
Sieswerda added the Health Unit plans to become much more aggressive in its enforcement practices, especially against landlords who repeatedly have difficulty with health and safety regulations.
(TBT News)
