Condo owner to pay record high fine for violating fire safety code

Owners of a condo in southwest Calgary charged with failing to comply with the provincial safety code have pleaded guilty in court and fined close to $60,000.

According to the Herald, Heritage Station Inc., owners of the London condo project were ordered in June of 2010 to submit final verification of the alarm system by an engineer, but the company failed to comply until April 2011.

The fine is nearly double the highest ever levied for similar offences.

Deputy Fire Chief Brad Lorne says owners must know that when a fire safety codes officer orders work to be done on their property, that it must be complied with.

He says the fine is substantial and should send a message to every owner that courts take this very seriously.

A lawyer for the company has said they felt everything was fully operational and only subject to partial verification.

By last summer, only about one-quarter of the condo's 719 units were still vacant.