Court issues $6000 penalty

In February 2014, a TSSA inspector investigated a fire at a Toronto dwelling, along with Toronto Fire Services and Enbridge Gas, and upon further investigation discovered that the HVAC contractor, Wonderful Heating and Cooling, had bypassed a safety switch on the fuel-fired furnace. Installing an air conditioner, Mr. Shaofa Li, owner/operator of Wonderful Heating and Cooling, had bypassed a high temperature limit switch, a safety device that cuts the power supply to the furnace when excessive temperatures are detected.

Mr. Li pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto to rendering the safety limit control inoperative on a furnace, contrary to the Gaseous Fuels Regulation under the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000. The court fined Mr. Li $6000, plus the mandatory 25% victim surcharge, for a total penalty of $7500.

“These are serious violations that put the homeowners in real danger,” said John Marshall, Director of TSSA’s Fuels Safety Program. “Thankfully no one was hurt, but public safety shouldn’t be left to luck. That’s why Ontario has stringent laws around fuel-fired equipment, including the integrity of safety devices that essentially protect the consumer.”