TORONTO -- A jury in a civil trial has ordered the owner of an illegal rooming house that was the scene of a deadly fire to pay the victim's family more than $1.3 million.
The jury in Milton, Ont., found Konstantin Lysenko responsible for the death of Alisha Lamers, who was 24 when she died after being trapped in the burning basement unit she had been renting.
It found the landlord failed to prepare and implement a safety plan for the building, which had eight tenants.
The jury also found that the smoke alarms weren't working and there was only one way to get out of the basement. Court also heard there were bars over the basement windows.
Lysenko, who did not respond to requests for comment, had argued in a statement of defence -- and again in court -- that it was not his responsibility to maintain those things, but the jury disagreed.
In 2015, he was fined $75,000 for violations of the fire code at the house.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2019.
