THUNDER BAY - After a fire at a house occupied by international students trapped and subsequently sent one Lakehead University student to hospital in critical care, concerns are once again being raised about the vulnerability of international students and home renting.
Farhan Yousaf, vice president finance and operations for Lakehead University Student Union voiced his frustrations last October after receiving a large number of emails about the vulnerability of international students, and possible exploitation of landlords.
Now he’s asking for the city to step in and address the vulnerability of international students.
“I hope the city takes action on this, and thorough investigation is done so it does not repeat itself,” Yousaf said.
Yousaf, who has been in contact with the student, said he’s doing “much better,” after initially being taken into ICU at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
The remaining students who escaped from the building attend Confederation College.
The fire, which broke out at a Hartland Street residence on Saturday morning, is still under investigation to determine the origin, cause and circumstances of the fire, and examine the fire code compliance of the property. The on-scene investigation, however, is complete.
Eric Nordlund, division chief of fire prevention and investigation, said the existing details speak to the enforcement issues surrounding city by-laws and how they affect student tenants.
He says fire officials know the Hartland Street residence operated under a safety code intended for the use of a single-family dwelling. But with more than four non-family members living in the house, the building should have operated under a rooming house by-law.
“There were definitely more than six people there at the time of the fire, granted some people were visiting,” Nordlund said.
Nordlund said this does not mean the landlord operated the building in an unsafe manner, but it will be part of the investigation to determine that.
“In this case, did it have some bearing on the fire? It could. It may show it had some effect on the survivability and the building occupants ability to escape, or be kept safe,” Nordlund said.
Lakehead is currently home to 1,400 international students, and Farhan Yousaf has been publicly vocal about their safety.
Yousaf says the student union holds information sessions on tenant rights during orientation.
“Some students miss those sessions, or with high fees students are trying to save money, so students find cheaper places that may not have proper fire code procedures.”
While his previous grievance was directed towards landlords, Yousaf is asking for more intervention from the city.
Nordlund says Thunder Bay Fire Rescue has addressed the scope of the problem, but not to the extent they considered it an issue.
“From a public education perspective, I think we’re going to spend more time with the education community… and the immigration community to make sure they know the rules,” Nordlund said.
“In this case, these folks are relatively new to living in Canada. It’s certainly no fault of theirs.”
