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Owners of home fined for illegal suite after fire

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From the City of Red Deer

Safety a concern with illegal secondary suites

A fire in a Red Deer home with an illegal secondary suite serves as a reminder to property owners to comply with The City of Red Deer Land Use Bylaw and the Safety Codes Act to ensure the safety of tenants.

According to Red Deer Emergency Services, an incident on January 9, 2018 left a family and three tenants in a single family home with an illegal secondary suite at risk, due to a fire that caused damage to the home. Two people received medical treatment as a result of the fire.

The two property owners (Asif Ambreen & Khan Ullah Kashan) were charged under the Safety Codes Act and plead guilty. Each received a $7,000 fine for a total of $14,000 plus a 15% Victims Surcharge.

The maximum fine under the Safety Codes Act for an illegal secondary suite is $100,000 for each offense and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

A secondary suite is a separate dwelling inside a single family home. Secondary suites must meet the Alberta Fire and Building Codes minimum standards which are designed to protect families, tenants, and neighbors. Illegal secondary suites put tenants at risk as they typically do not have hardwired interconnected smoke alarms, proper fire separations or adequate bedroom windows.

Secondary suites are allowed on a discretionary basis in single family homes in Red Deer. Property owners require a development and building permit for the use of a secondary suite.

For more information on secondary suites, visit reddeer.ca/permits

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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