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An Auckland boarding house owner has been fined $15,000 after his building was declared a fire danger to occupants.
Murphy McDade was also ordered to pay $1356 in prosecution costs and $130 in court costs when he was sentenced in the Auckland District Court.
He was charged with breaching a notice to repair his building in Karangahape Rd and allowing the dangerous state to continue for 10 months.
The Auckland City Council said after the hearing that fire safety officers had found an unstable deck which was a fire escape, an inadequate fire alarm and doors that prevented fast escape in an emergency.
The council said that during sentencing Judge Fred McElrea said the building was an accident waiting to happen and if there had been a fire people probably would have died.
The council's residential developments manager, John Lawrence, said the prosecution was a warning to others and an important reminder that improvement notices from the council should be taken seriously. "I hope Mr McDade has learned from his mistake. He left us no choice but to prosecute."
Mr Lawrence said the issues with the building were discovered during a routine inspection by the Fire Service, which then alerted the council.
"Having said that, in conjunction with the Fire Service we intend to be more proactive in identifying these buildings."
That would involve targeting specific buildings such as nightclubs and boarding houses.
Mr Lawrence said that since July 1 last year, 1172 complaints involving illegal or dangerous commercial buildings or stormwater flooding had been investigated. Six of those complaints, including the Karangahape Rd boarding house case, had gone to court.
"What we are trying to do is get voluntary compliance ... We are wanting people to comply rather than have to prosecute," he said.
"There are a lot of buildings out there that need looking at."
- NZPA
