An inquest begins Monday into the deaths of Garland McKay, Dwayne Rasmussen and Stephen Yellowquill.
The three men were killed in a fire at a flophouse on Pandora Street in Vancouver in December 2010.
The blaze was blamed on a faulty electrical cord, connected to a set of old Christmas lights. The inquest heard that there were no working fire alarms in the home.
The incident raised the issue of squalid and dirty conditions at illegal rooming houses in the city.
The City of Vancouver was criticized for not shutting the East Vancouver rooming house down before tragedy struck. City staff had warned the landlord of the property about its condition several times.
Daisy Lavallee, the mother of victim Stephen Yellowquill, told CTV News outside the inquiry that the fire would not have started if the city took action against the landlord.
"Somebody has to take responsibly for what's going on," she said.
Bylaw officers visited the home five months before the fire, and ordered the landlord to make repairs and stop renting the home to multiple tenants. A follow-up three months later revealed that few repairs had been made, and the residence was still housing many tenants.
Seven people were living inside the home when the blaze ignited. Some of them panhandled on East Hastings Street near Nanaimo Street, and were well known in the neighbourhood.
NPA candidate Suzanne Anton and community pastor Rev. Barry Morris both called for a public inquiry into why the rooming house wasn't shut down.
Visitors to the house told CTV News the house was very neglected, with barely-operational plumbing and crumbling walls. Fire alarms and doors locks were not working. The city maintained there were no "life-threatening issues" that would have allowed staff to shut it down.
After the fire, the city's then-bylaw enforcement manager Carlene Robbins was demoted. She later sued the city for wrongful dismissal.
The coroner and a jury will hear evidence from witnesses – and will have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing future deaths.
The proceedings, headed by the BC Coroners Service, will be held in Burnaby.
