Saskatoon Fire Department says City Centre Inn and Suites faced dozens of complaints and violations since 2014

Over the last six years alone, there have been dozens of complaints and violations at the City Centre Inn and Suites in Saskatoon.

Assistant Fire Chief Yvonne Raymond tells 650 CKOM that there have been at least 13 complaints, 14 enforcement actions including 10 tickets, three orders and one direct charge under the Fire Safety Act.

“Twenty-one inspections have occurred on that property since 2014, so there are some buildings and properties that actually bring us to that site more than once a year.”

However, Raymer says prior to a complaint three weeks ago, the last inspection of the motel took place in Jan. 2019 – about a year and a half ago.

“It had, I believe, it’s regularly scheduled fire inspection. Since then and during COVID, when we’ve been taking extra precautions, it’s sort of put a delay I guess on that fire inspection moving forward – until a concern came to us.”

That said, pandemic or not, Raymer says it did not stop a team of four city fire inspectors over the last several weeks from going into the building and ordering the closure of the site and all three buildings on it.

Although reluctant to cooperate at first, hotel owner John Pontes is putting a plan in place for the property.

“Fencing is being erected right now for security because it will be vacant. The actual timeline of the closure is actually within his control. So, as soon as he complies and he rectifies all of the deficiencies, that’s when he can reopen,” said Raymer.

There are 34 deficiencies under the Property Maintenance and Nuisance Abatement Bylaw, and 27 deficiencies under the National Fire Code of Canada.

According to a statement released by the City of Saskatoon, some of them include locked exit doors, stairs at risk of collapse, inaccessible fire extinguishers, too few and uninspected fire extinguishers, improper smoke alarm records and unsafe and unsanitary conditions.