by Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 16/97) - A Yellowknife businessman has been fined $500 and demanded to pay damages to a homeowner after he was found responsible for creating an emergency.

Jacques Lafond, a one-time prospective owner of Arctic Dustbusters, was found guilty by a justice of the peace Tuesday night after pleading not guilty to the charge. He was ordered to pay $202.72 to the homeowner for the damages.

He was charged under city bylaw 3877, the emergency response and protection service bylaw.

Lafond, who had planned to buy the business from Wayne Bertrand, sent a friend of his to clean the furnace and vents in a School Draw Avenue home March 18.

The worker, who is believed to be a certified burner mechanic, removed the safety switch on the furnace, allowing the temperature to keep rising, said Larry Weber, supervisory constable with municipal enforcement.

"... thereby rapidly developing into an emergency situation," he said.

Weber said that the furnace could have shut down, locking heat inside the furnace and causing a meltdown or a fire.

A tenant of the house had returned about three hours after the work was done to find the temperature to be high. This tenant then disconnected the power to the furnace.

Lafond was charged after the city conducted its own investigation with the assistance of furnace and electrical professionals.

Weber also said that at the time of the accident, Arctic Dustbusters wasn't registered with the city as an operating business.

"Lafond had applied for a business licence March 17 -- this incident occurred on March 18," he said, adding that it takes 18 to 21 days to process an application."