Doug J. Ritcey

The appellant appealed a Review Order made by the Fire Marshal's Delegate regarding fire safety measures at an apartment building.

The original Inspection Order required the appellant to clean a stove and replace smoke detectors with heat detectors due to frequent false alarms caused by tenants smoking and cooking.

The Review Order modified this to only require replacing the smoke detector in one unit.

The Fire Safety Commission found that the frequent false alarms caused tenant complacency and increased the risk of tampering, posing a fire safety issue.

The Commission amended the Review Order to require the replacement of smoke detectors with heat detectors in all bedrooms on each floor of the premises.

The appellant appealed a review decision upholding an inspection order that required him to remove excessive combustible materials (hoarding) from his home.

The appellant argued the inspection violated Charter values due to alleged harassment, that hoarding is not a fire safety issue, and that he had since complied with the order.

The Fire Safety Commission dismissed the appeal, finding no evidence of harassment, that hoarding poses a significant fire safety risk to occupants and first responders, and that subsequent compliance does not invalidate the original order.