SASKATOON -- The house that caught fire in the Mayfair neighbourhood Tuesday has gone up in flames before.
No one was hurt in the fire, which happened at a fourplex in the 1800 block of Avenue D North. A 39-year-old man has been charged with arson.
The landlord, Jack Grover, has owned multiple properties in Saskatoon over the past 25 years.
In 2012, a 60-year-old man died in a fire at the fourplex that started after a hot plate grazed a tenant's bedding.
Three of the four smoke detectors inside the home were not connected at the time. The only smoke detector that was hooked up was on Grover's side of the home.
"The higher than normal number of fires that have been experienced by this single property, on our part, does bear some more scrutiny," said Wayne Roger, assistant chief of the Saskatoon Fire Department.
Grover’s 'battles'
In 2005 another one of Grover's homes burnt down, claiming the lives of two children.
In an Aug. 12 decision, Court of Queen's Bench Judge H.D. MacMillan-Brown reduced $302,400 in fines against Grover Holdings, which had been convicted due to a buildup of garbage and junk in the backyard of a property located on Duchess Street.
Grover was also convicted of not complying with a court order to fix up a property on 26th Street.
Grover Holdings had argued sentence was disproportionate to the offences. The judge agreed and reduced the fines to $35,175 but wrote: "The actions of Grover Holdings, through Mr. Grover, are a continuation of an inexcusable course of conduct and must not be condoned."
MacMillan-Brown described the relationship between Grover and the City of Saskatoon as a quarter century long series of municipal battles.
He noted the more than 150 convictions entered against Grover Holdings for bylaw and property offences since 1993.
A fire investigator is working to determine if the Mayfair property had enough smoke detectors and whether they were working.
The fire department says it is involved in dealing with the public's concerns and is keeping a close watch on the house.
