Woman Dies in Fire; Owner Claims Violations Were Fixed

A woman died and two others were critically injured in a fire that erupted in a 13-unit residential building on July 17, 2026. Fire inspection documents obtained indicate 13 Ontario Fire Code violations were identified at the property since the beginning of 2025.

The owner of the building, Radium-1 Development Ltd., asserts that all identified deficiencies were resolved prior to the fatal fire. Records show two Inspection Orders were issued in 2025 and 2026. The earlier inspection on February 5, 2025, documented 10 violations, while a follow-up on February 26, 2026, found three more. The latter inspection noted a non-functioning fire alarm system with missing heat detectors.

The owner claims these issues were rectified and that the building was safe. He points to a separate, ongoing legal matter from before 2023 regarding a missed deadline for other fire code deficiencies. The owner also suggested that the city's failure to address homelessness contributes to repeated damage to fire safety equipment, citing break-ins and vandalism. The London Fire Department declined to comment on the specific Inspection Orders from 2025 and 2026 due to the ongoing legal proceedings. The owner maintains that residents, some of whom had lived there for over a decade, would not have remained if the building was unsafe.