ONTARIO-An Ottawa man is going through a hefty nice after a fireplace burned virtually 45 hectares of land.
Wassim Zaibak of Ottawa, pleaded responsible to failing to maintain a fireplace beneath management and was ordered to pay Ontario $35,000 as partial compensation for the prices incurred to extinguish the fireplace.
The courtroom heard that on June 4, 2023, a forest fireplace began on a privately owned island on Centennial Lake in Renfrew County in a Restricted Fireplace Zone. The fireplace consumed virtually 45 hectares of forest space and close by residents had been evacuated as a security precaution. A forensic investigation decided the fireplace was human triggered. Conservation officers decided Zaibak triggered the fireplace.
The investigation was supported by eye-witness accounts from residents, cottage homeowners and the Larger Madawaska Fireplace Division.
magistrate Carl Everett DeJong heard the case within the Ontario Courtroom of Justice, Pembroke, on August 26, 2024.
To report a pure useful resource drawback or present details about an unsolved case, members of the general public can name the ministry TIPS line toll free at 1-877-847-7667. You too can name Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS. For extra details about unsolved instances, please go to ontario.ca/mnrftips.
