Illegal rooming house owner faces more charges in fire deaths

The owner of an illegal rooming house in Calgary is now facing more charges in connection with a fire that killed two tenants late last month.

Yan Teng Li has been charged with 30 public health violations under the Public Health Act as a result of the July 31 fire that killed two men.

The Calgary Health Region inspected the house after the deadly fire and issued 30 violations, including failing to ensure that electrical fixtures and outlets were properly maintained.

Li was earlier charged with 29 fire code violations when arson investigators deemed the cause of the July 31 fire was an electrical overload.

He is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 3. The health code violations carry a total maximum fine of $60,000, while the fire code violations carry fines of about $435,000.

The old house at 1810 1st St. N.W.was zoned for a single family dwelling but held eight individual suites, each with its own set of appliances.

Five other people escaped the rooming house, which investigators found had no fire alarm system, and had its windows nailed shut.

"The violations were obvious, the deaths were tragic, and it is our desire to send a strong message that these types of living conditions will not be tolerated," said Brad Lorne, the Calgary fire department's deputy chief of community standards, in a news release earlier this month.