The owners of a home in Armadale were fined more than $13,000 last month after they failed to clean up their property when it was destroyed by fire last year.
On December 1, 2017 Department of Emergency Services personnel responded to a call of a structure fire at 62 Little John Road.
The residence was deemed uninhabitable by DFES due to extensive damage, which included structural instability, trip hazards, overhead hazards, unsecured debris and exposed wiring.
The City of Armadale’s health services department tried to contact the owners of the property several times after the fire to ensure the property would be cleaned up. However the owners failed to respond on all occasions.
On April 27 this year the city issued a notice declaring the house unfit for habitation and required the owners to clean and repair the house.
Following failure to comply the city initiated prosecution for the period of May 31 to September 5.
On October 2 the city commenced legal proceedings.
However, the owners did not attend court. On October 26 the matter was adjourned and the owners entered pleas of guilty.
The city’s solicitor provided the court a summary of the offences and detailed the impact for the city on the amenity with emphasis on the ongoing risks to the community.
The owners were fined a total of $13,308.60 being $6654.30 against each of the accused.
