Owner - Definition

O. Reg. 213/07: FIRE CODE

SECTION 1.2 COMPLIANCE Subsection 1.2.1. Compliance with this Code

Owner’s responsibility

1.2.1.1. Unless otherwise specified, the owner is responsible for carrying out the provisions of this Code.

1.3.1.1. Where a building or its contents must be tested for compliance with this Code, the tests shall be carried out by the owner or the owner’s agent within such reasonable time as the Chief Fire Official may determine.

1.4.1.2. The words and terms used in this Code that are in bold face, and either in upper and lower case or in lower case, have the following meanings:

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Owner means any person, firm or corporation having control over any portion of the building or property under consideration and includes the persons in the building or property.

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Supervisory staff means those occupants of a building who have some delegated responsibility for the fire safety of other occupants under the fire safety plan and may include the fire department where the fire department agrees to accept these responsibilities.

9.1.4.5. An owner or the owner’s agent may apply to the Chief Fire Official for an extension of the compliance date to permit time for a Life Safety Study to be submitted.

9.1.4.6. (1) Where an owner or the owner’s agent has received an Order that requires compliance with this Part, the owner or the owner’s agent may apply within five days of receipt of the Order to the Chief Fire Official to extend the time for compliance pending submission of a Life Safety Study.

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(3) The Chief Fire Official shall notify the owner or the owner’s agent of the Chief Fire Official’s decision in writing.

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(6) An owner or the owner’s agent, within five days of being notified of a refusal to grant an extension of the time to submit a Life Safety Study, may request the reasons for the refusal in writing.

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(8) An owner or the owner’s agent who feels aggrieved by a decision to refuse an extension of time to submit a Life Safety Study may, within 30 days of the refusal, appeal the refusal in the same manner as though it were an Order.

City of Toronto v. Barrasso and 1298781 Ontario Inc., 2006 ONCJ 463 (CanLII)

[29] The Ontario Fire Code, O. Reg. 388/97, is a regulation made under the F.P.P.A., 1997.

[30] The responsibility for carrying out the provisions of the Ontario Fire Code are on the owner of a building and is set out in s. 1.1.1.1. of the Fire Code:

1.1.1.1. Unless otherwise specified, the owner shall be responsible for carrying out the provisions of this Code.

[31] This focus on the “owner” being ultimately responsible for compliance with the Ontario Fire Code is also seen in a provision dealing with required testing under the Fire Code. This requirement that owners of buildings or premises must carry out the testing is set out in s. 1.1.4.1 of the Fire Code:

1.1.4.1. Where a building or its contents must be tested for compliance with this Code, the tests shall be carried out by the owner or the owner’s agent within such reasonable time as the Chief Fire Official may determine.

[32] On the other hand, if the director of a corporation knows that the corporation is violating or has violated a provision of the Fire Code then they are guilty of committing an offence under s. 28(5), and if they knowingly commit an offence under s. 28(1) the F.P.P.A., 1997 they are guilty of committing an offence under s. 28(6):

Offence, director or officer of corporation

28(5) A director or officer of a corporation who knows that the corporation is violating or has violated a provision of the fire code is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $25,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both.

Liability of directors

28(6) Despite subsections (1) and (3), every director or officer of a corporation who knowingly commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $25,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both.