COURT HITS DRUG HOUSE OWNER WITH RECORD FINE

Fire Chief Applauds Stiff Sentence, Calls It Message To
Community

A single mom and her two young children lived in one unit of a
downtown apartment complex. The two rear units were occupied by two
pregnant women.

Unknown to them, they were sharing their home with highly toxic
tenants.

The basement was filled with large containers of soil and combustible
chemicals, remnants of a former marijuana grow operation.

"There were gas leaks, carbon monoxide leaks and mould throughout the
units," said Insp. Jim Jessop, a fire prevention officer with the
Niagara Falls Fire Department.

Conditions were so dangerous, the tenants were ordered to pack up some
belongings and leave.

"This court is shocked and appalled by these circumstances," justice
of the peace Tom Froese said in Niagara Falls provincial offences
court Thursday after hearing how the property owner ignored court
orders to clean up the former drug house.

Froese fined owner Donald Braun $100,000 - the largest fine ever
imposed against the owner of a former drug house in Niagara Falls. He
was also prohibited from owning a rental property in the city for the
next 12 months.

"People's lives are at risk and this court finds that appalling,"
Froese added.

Braun, who pleaded guilty in May to a slew of fire and building code
violations, did not attend and was sentenced in absentia.

Fire Chief Pat Burke was thrilled with the sentence.

"This sends a clear message out there to people who are going to
ignore an unsafe building order ... they will do so at their own
peril. This will also help protect the unsuspecting people in the
community who can very honestly walk into a horrible situation."

The fire department was called to assist police May 4, 2005 following
a raid on a home at 5583 Ontario Ave. Police seized 150 marijuana
plants in various stages of growth.

Due to the health and safety risks posed by the marijuana forest, fire
officials issued an unsafe building order against the property. The
order prohibited occupancy until the problems were rectified.

Three months later, the fire department was notified the owner had
rented out each unit.

None of the problems caused by the drug lab had been fixed - in fact,
the building was actually in worse shape than before.

Court was told walls were covered in mould and the plastic vat of soil
and chemicals had been fermenting in the basement for three months.

It was so bad, court was told, the city took the unusual step of
remediating the property immediately. The city covered the cost of the
cleanup, estimated at more than $50,000. Today, the building is fully
occupied.

A lien was placed on the property, and the city will recover that
money through property tax.