Bathhouse owner gets away with an 11,000 fine. Sad. Not enough. What is the value of a couple of life's now a days?
Bathhouse
- Thread starter Deepstrokes
- Start date
How is it the owners fault that a fire happened? The person who started the fire, that is who is at fault. That is like saying that if a plane malfunctions, its the pilots fault, when it would be the person who worked on the plane and built or fixed or checked on the part that failed.
It 's the owners fault because he is responsible for maintaining the life safety equipment at his building. If he had of maintained the emergency lights, smoke alarm, and fire extinguishers as requirement by the City of Winnipeg the people inside would have had early warning and could have escaped the building. He did not start the fire, however he did nothing to protect his customers.
Dude's got a point:
Other violations Pengpharsuks admitted to ranged from having exposed electrical wiring and non-working fire extinguishers to exit doors that were bolted shut. Peter Kloos said the issues with exit doors were a serious safety concern. In the panic of an emergency, clients in the bathhouse may not have the presence of mind to think the door was bolted, he suggested. "So in the event of a fire, the person would not be able to get through that exit door or they'd have to first be cognizant of the fact that there was a bolt that they'd have to slide … before they got out of the door," Kloos said.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/03/11/man-bathhouse-fire-guilty-bylaws.html
Other violations Pengpharsuks admitted to ranged from having exposed electrical wiring and non-working fire extinguishers to exit doors that were bolted shut. Peter Kloos said the issues with exit doors were a serious safety concern. In the panic of an emergency, clients in the bathhouse may not have the presence of mind to think the door was bolted, he suggested. "So in the event of a fire, the person would not be able to get through that exit door or they'd have to first be cognizant of the fact that there was a bolt that they'd have to slide … before they got out of the door," Kloos said.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/03/11/man-bathhouse-fire-guilty-bylaws.html
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It was wrong for him to have all these things that shouldn't have been done or not done(electrical etc), and lack of common sense on his part. But knowing that paint has to be either gone, or in a flammable case, I for sure would not know that needed to be done. I just feel that inspections are being looked past, and the common business person does not always know what is legal or illegal, that is why inspections should be done often and properly.
It is up to the business owner to know what is code and not code at his or her property. Most business owners don't like to ask these question because it draws attention of WFD to business. As I understand much of the work that was done in this building was done with out permits. If permits are taken out usually the city inspector will notify WFD.
Also you say its up to the business owner, however If you were to buy a car, and you weren't a mechanic, should you know everything there is to do to a car before you buy it, probably not, that is why there are mechanics. You need to get routine oil changes etc, and i think that there should be routine inspections, because once again not everyone knows little details, like how to keep paint properly in a business.
If you read your car manual it tell you when to do your service checks. Running a business and owning a building is a lot different then a car. There are alarm and fire extinguishers list in the phone book. There also private building inspectors. I know for a fact that one life safety company contacted this property to set up an inspection but never received a return call.
Again it is up to the building owner to set up annual inspection. However they do cost money and there is a chance the company will report you to WFD. That is why places like this and the old Howard Johnson on Ellice do not like to have inspection. Now that he knows the law I hope he installs an fire alarm system. proper emergency lighting, and installs fire extinguishers then worry about an addition.
Again it is up to the building owner to set up annual inspection. However they do cost money and there is a chance the company will report you to WFD. That is why places like this and the old Howard Johnson on Ellice do not like to have inspection. Now that he knows the law I hope he installs an fire alarm system. proper emergency lighting, and installs fire extinguishers then worry about an addition.
I have a small business and the fire inspectors come every year to make sure the fire extinguishers are working and not expired, in proper locations etc. Not sure why they would visit my location 3 years in a row and not a place like the bathhouse.
"The business has made the required changes and upgrades and has reopened, Pengpharsuks said."
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/s...thhouse-fire-guilty-bylaws.html#ixzz0iNPyTvkI
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/s...thhouse-fire-guilty-bylaws.html#ixzz0iNPyTvkI
I have a small business and the fire inspectors come every year to make sure the fire extinguishers are working and not expired, in proper locations etc. Not sure why they would visit my location 3 years in a row and not a place like the bathhouse.
Yes that is what I am trying to say, I know business owners, and they have said the same sort of thing.
I agree. My businesses are regularly inspected.I have a small business and the fire inspectors come every year to make sure the fire extinguishers are working and not expired, in proper locations etc. Not sure why they would visit my location 3 years in a row and not a place like the bathhouse.
I'm not excusing the owner but the fault also lies with the system. Years ago in another life, I worked for a Federal government department and part of my job was inspection and enforcement. While most of us follow the rules and regulatons and fix our violations, there are alot of business owners who know how to play "the game". When violations occur they whine to some politician about how expensive they'll be to fix or how they need more time, then the politician calls the deparment, then the deparment head, calls your supervisor and so on.... Everyone does what they feel is in "their" best interest with little or no regard for the actual regulations they are supposed to be enforcing. Before you know it things like this tragedy happen then everyone stand around with their thumb up their ass wondering what went wrong.
Ever notice when things like this happen no one says "Okay, this place had x number of violations. Now when was their last inspection and who did it? Why were those violations not corrected? Was there a follow up inspection? Who gave the business the okay not to do the upgrades on time?" Of course not.
