Appeal under s. 26 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c.4
Between:
700 King West Holdings c/o Medallion Corporation
Appellant
and
London Fire Department
Respondent
DECISION AND ORDER
Panel: Patrick Cummins, Vice-Chair Rocco Iamello, Member
Appearances
For the Appellant: Shereen Goncalves, Co-Counsel Kristin Ley, Co-Counsel
For the Respondent: Jerry Torrence, Fire Prevention Inspector
Heard by Videoconference: July 10, 2025
BACKGROUND
1700 King West Holdings c/o Medallion Corporation (Appellant) is the owner of a 25-storey residential occupancy located at 700 King Street East in London, Ontario (Building).1
2Inspector Jerry Torrence of the London Fire Department (Respondent) inspected the Building on September 4, 2024. On September 5, 2024, he issued an Inspection Order pursuant to s. 21(1)(g) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 4 (FPPA), which requires remedying a contravention of the Fire Code (O. Reg. 213/07).
3The Inspection Order required the following action:
- Make the necessary repairs to address the trouble signals and ensure the fire alarm system is maintained in operating condition (Division B, Article 6.3.1.4 of the Fire Code).
4On October 4, 2024, the Appellant requested a review of the Inspection Order by the Fire Marshal under s. 25 of the FPPA. The Appellant did not dispute the action required in the Inspection Order but requested additional time to comply.
5On May 13, 2025, the Fire Marshal issued Fire Marshal Review No. FM-24370 (Review Decision), which amended the action required in the Inspection Order by extending the compliance date from October 7, 2024 to June 13, 2025.
6On May 28, 2025, the Appellant appealed the Review Decision to the Fire Safety Commission (the Commission) pursuant to s. 26(1) of the FPPA and requested an extension of the compliance date to December 31, 2025.
ISSUE IN DISPUTE
7Should the Commission confirm, amend, or rescind the Review Decision or make such other order as the Commission deems appropriate?
RESULT
8The Commission amends the Review Decision by extending the compliance date from June 13, 2025 to September 15, 2025.
EVIDENCE
Appellant’s Evidence
9Emmanuel Onuegbu of the Appellant’s Property Management team testified on behalf of the Appellant. He did not dispute the action required by the Inspection Order and acknowledged that the fire alarm panel had as many as 39 error codes or trouble signals requiring repairs to the fire alarm system. He stated that since Inspector Torrence’s initial inspection of the Building on September 4, 2024, the Appellant implemented a Fire Watch program involving the manual surveillance of the Building to identify early signs of unwanted fire and mitigate fire risks while the fire alarm system required repairs. Mr. Onuegbu testified that the fire alarm system repairs were delayed due to (i) the need for specialized parts, (ii) a persistent electrical ground fault issue, (iii) the limited availability of skilled trades, and (iv) proprietary restrictions regarding authorized personnel who were permitted to work on the fire alarm system.
10Mr. Onuegbu stated that delays due to waiting on out of stock specialized parts were out of the control of the Appellant and such parts were obtained as soon as they became available. He stated that the ground fault issue and repair delays due to the limited availability of skilled trades and proprietary restrictions regarding authorized contractors were rectified when the Appellant hired personnel from Johnson Controls Inc. and Gruber Advanced Technologies to replace less skilled and non-authorized contractors.
11Mr. Onuegbu testified that as of July 9, 2025, the ground fault issue was resolved, and the number of error codes or trouble signals on the panel to the fire alarm system had been reduced from 39 to 12. He stated that the Fire Watch program remains in place and the remaining 12 error codes or trouble signals to the fire alarm panel were expected to be resolved by August 2025.
12Zalmen Gruber of Gruber Advanced Technologies also testified on behalf of the Appellant. He stated that he was initially hired by the Appellant as a contractor consultant at the end of May 2025 to repair the fire alarm panel and he is now a member of the Appellant’s staff. He testified as to the steps he took in June and July 2025 to resolve the ground fault and proprietary issues. He testified that Johnson Controls Inc. had proprietary restrictions regarding authorized contractors, and he was able to work with Johnson Controls Inc. to resolve the proprietary issues. He stated that once he was able to resolve the ground fault issue, he was able to reduce most of the error codes or trouble signals to the fire alarm panel. He stated that there remain 12 error codes or trouble signals to the fire panel that he expects to resolve by August 2025 through the replacement of certain worn and torn devices.
Respondent’s Evidence and Submissions
13Inspector Jerry Torrence testified on behalf of the Respondent. He testified that he visited the Building numerous times in 2024 and 2025 and acknowledged that the Appellant had made progress in repairing and reducing the number of error codes or trouble signals to the fire alarm system.
14Inspector Torrence submitted that the delays in complying with the Inspection Order could have been prevented if the Appellant had hired skilled contractors in the first place and added that the replacement of worn and torn devices could have been done months ago.
15Inspector Torrence confirmed that the Appellant has had a Fire Watch program in place since his initial September 4, 2024 inspection. However, Inspector Torrence stated that several fires that occurred at the Building in the Fall of 2024 were called in by persons other than the Fire Watch personnel, revealing that the role of the Fire Watch program was limited. Inspector Torrence submitted that the safety of occupants in the Building is being compromised by the delays in complying with the Inspection Order and it was the Respondent’s position that to ensure fire safety no extension of the compliance date be granted.
ANALYSIS
16The Commission finds that the evidence of Zalmen Gruber was consistent with the evidence of Emmanuel Onuegbu and both witnesses for the Appellant provided reasonable explanations and support for the delays encountered by the Appellant. We note that both witnesses expect the error codes or trouble signals in the fire panel to be repaired by August 2025.
17The Commission finds that some of the previous delays in complying with the Inspection Order could have been prevented by the Appellant hiring skilled authorized contractors in the first place. This is borne out by the fact that when the Appellant hired more skilled authorized contractors in May and June 2025, meaningful repair progress was made to the fire alarm system. Some of the previous delays relating to specialized parts being out of stock were out of the control of the Appellant. On balance, the Commission finds that the Appellant made reasonable attempts to comply with the Inspection Order, and the delays were not solely the fault of the Appellant.
18The Appellant requests an amendment of the compliance date in the Review Decision to December 31, 2025. The Commission agrees an extension should be granted. However, we find this lengthy extension request is unreasonable as the Appellant’s evidence indicates that more skilled authorized contractors are expected to repair the error codes or trouble signals in the fire panel by August 2025. A delay to year end 2025 would unnecessarily compromise fire safety and the safety of occupants in the Building. The Commission acknowledges that the Appellant’s use of a Fire Watch program may mitigate some of the risk posed by the non-functioning fire alarm panel, but it should not be relied on as a long-term solution. Instead, we grant a short-term extension to September 15, 2025.
19For the reasons set out above, the Commission amends the Review Decision by extending the compliance date from June 13, 2025 to September 15, 2025.
ORDER
20The Commission amends the Review Decision by extending the compliance date from June 13, 2025 to September 15, 2025.
Released: August 6, 2025
_________________________
Patrick Cummins
Vice Chair
_________________________
Rocco Iamello
Member