That condo storage locker you paid for? It might violate Ontario's Fire Code

Residents at Edge Lofts on Queen Street E. are facing a costly surprise: storage lockers they purchased years ago are illegal under Ontario's Fire Code, and they have until early August to clear them out.

Makeup artist Joani Chell paid $30,000 combined for her parking spot and locker unit before moving in. She used the locker for her work equipment. Now she's been told by the property manager that the wire-mesh lockers violate fire code and must be emptied.

"It's all going to end up in my unit, so it's going to be a hoarder's palace, a fire hazard," Chell said.

Toronto Fire explained the core problem: parking garages and storage rooms each have separate fire-safety rules governing sprinkler systems and fire separation. When wire-mesh compartments are built directly into a parking garage for domestic storage, "you've lost control of the combustible content," said Harry Tchalikian, acting division chief at Toronto Fire. "It should not have been sold to her as a free-use storage space at all."

The issue has existed for decades, according to fire consultant Michele Farley. Inspectors sometimes approve the lockers when they're empty, and they're often mislabeled on architectural plans. "Another inspector could come in literally the next day when they're filled and say 'you can't have them, take them out,'" Farley said.

reporters reached out to the building's property manager, the condo board, and Streetcar Developments (the builder), but received no detailed responses.