EXCLUSIVE: Court docs reveal landlord handed prison time for fire code offences

A Sault Ste. Marie landlord who was recently handed a stint in prison for multiple Ontario Fire Code offences is no stranger to fire prevention and bylaw enforcement officers locally. 

In a news release issued Tuesday, Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services said the owner of a multi-unit residential building was sentenced to 90 days in prison after being found guilty of numerous fire code offences in court Dec. 14.

The offences include:  

• Failing to maintain closures in fire separations
• Failing to ensure closures are free from obstructions
• Failing to repair a fire separation
• Failing to prepare a Fire Safety Plan for the building
• Using temporary electrical wiring where it presents a fire hazard
• Failing to properly install, operate and maintain heating, ventilating or air-conditioning systems
• Failing to conduct fire drills as required
• Failing to install required carbon monoxide alarms
• Failing to maintain fire alarm system 

The name of the owner and the address of the building was not disclosed. Publicly available court documents obtained by SooToday, however, reveal that 2816892 Ontario Inc. was convicted of nearly a dozen fire code offences at 410 Pim Street — also known as the former home of The Canuck — dating back to February 2023. 

The owner of the numbered company, Jim Brogno, will serve his prison sentence at the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre, according to a Dec. 14 arrest warrant. He will also serve an additional eight days in prison concurrent to the three 30-day prison sentences handed down in provincial offences court. 

Brogno’s name and his business exploits will be familiar to SooToday readers.

As first reported by SooToday, another numbered company operated by Brogno racked up more than $381,000 in unpaid fines with the city and other costs after being found guilty of multiple bylaw and fire code offences at two multi-unit rental properties. 

Both Brogno and 410 Pim Street also made headlines in 2021 after the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario investigated a complaint against The Canuck amid accusations that public health regulations were being ignored at the Brogno-owned bar and restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Local media outlets were issued a statement by Brogno during the time, stating that public health regulations were being followed — but not before disclosing that he was for “freedom of choice.”