\u201cThose who violate the legislation and put lives at risk will be held accountable,\u201d Brampton fire Chief Andy Glynn said in a statement<\/a> following the sentencing decision.<\/p>\n Kassay, who maintained in court there was a working smoke alarm in the unit that she inspected annually, is currently out on bail pending her appeal. She is also fighting lawsuits by both Watson and John\u2019s family, filing a statement of defence in which she denies any responsibility for the fire, which\u00a0left the neighbourhood traumatized and a family devastated.<\/p>\n A family torn apart<\/p>\n Watson and John felt \u201clove at first sight,\u201d and when he held Aria in his arms for the first time he made a promise to \u201calways protect my little family,\u201d according to the victim impact statement he gave at Kassay\u2019s sentencing.<\/p>\n But it was his wife who died trying to shield Aria from the blaze with her own body, he said. She was a \u201cfiercely protective, fiercely loving woman,\u201d he said. She was also smart and ambitious, with big plans for her future.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aria\u2019s life was \u201ctaken from her before it even got started,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was just exploring the world.\u201d<\/p>\n John\u2019s family remains too devastated to speak much about her and Aria.<\/p>\n \u201cMelissa was a most compassionate and loving person,\u201d said her father, Eappen K. John, in a message from Malaysia, where he lives. \u201cFirst things she did after graduating with a degree in psychology and getting a job was to sign up as an organ donor as well as a member of World Wildlife Fund. Her love for all living things was so dear to her.\u201d<\/p>\n Both he and Watson hold onto how\u00a0\u2014 in some way\u00a0\u2014 their family\u2019s loss means other lives may have been saved. While John\u2019s organs were too damaged to be donated, Aria\u2019s could go to other children.<\/p>\n \u201cAria was still able to be a superhero in this life,\u201d Watson said. She gave \u201csomeone else a future, a chance, something that was not given to her.\u201d<\/p>\n Watson\u2019s injuries from the fire have left him unable to walk for more than a few minutes at a time, or do daily tasks on his own, such as bathing or writing. He cannot breathe properly and is fearful of being in public due to the scarring on his face.<\/p>\n Melissa John with her father, Eappen.<\/p>\n John Family<\/p>\n He is also terrorized every night by his memories of the fire.<\/p>\n \u201cMost days, I\u2019m stuck in misery as I will never see my family again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Were there smoke alarms in the unit?<\/p>\n Kassay had bought the 1.5-storey house on Jade in the Bramalea area of Brampton in 2016 for $573,000 with the intent of being a landlord.<\/p>\n The house was a legal two-unit home that had been converted to three units. Kassay went on to renovate the basement unit and add a garage unit, according to the reasons for judgment and sentencing by Justice of the Peace Sandra Damota.<\/p>\n Watson, John and Aria moved into the basement unit in December 2020.<\/p>\n During the 13-day trial, Kassay testified there was a smoke alarm at the top of the steps leading down to the bedroom and living room level of the basement unit, and a carbon monoxide detector in the living room. She said she demonstrated the smoke alarm worked to Watson before the family moved in, and that she checked it yearly on Jan. 7, along with smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in the other units in the house.<\/p>\n However, when asked in court\u00a0to describe how she changed the batteries in the alarms, Damota said Kassay struggled to answer.<\/p>\n Watson denied that Kassay showed him a working smoke alarm and said he never saw one in the unit, but assumed his home was properly equipped.<\/p>\n The defence argued the tenants must have removed the alarms, but Damota said no evidence was provided to show there was ever any in the basement unit.<\/p>\n The fire investigators did find a working smoke alarm in the upper floor unit and one with a depleted battery in the middle floor unit.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was simply no smoke alarm located in the basement unit, in any location, let alone outside the bedrooms where one is required to be,\u201d Damota said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Renovations without a permit<\/p>\n Kassay testified she didn\u2019t know she needed permits for the renovations she had done to the house, including the basement.\u00a0She also did not know if the contractor she used was licensed and did not receive a certificate for the safety of the electrical work completed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI find that Ms. Kassay was extremely negligent in her role as a landlord,\u201d\u00a0Damota concluded in her sentencing decision.<\/p>\n \u201cThe evidence before this court demonstrates that her primary motivation was financial gain. In pursuing that objective, she made a series of decisions between when the property was purchased to the date of the fire without taking even the most basic steps to ensure the property complied with applicable legal and safety requirements. Had it not been for those choices, we may not be here today.\u201d<\/p>\n Omar Watson and Melissa John moved into the basement unit at 47 Jade Cres. in December 2020.<\/p>\n Alyshah Hasham<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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