Quebec has around 21,000 firefighters in 632 fire departments. Of these, more than 75% work on a voluntary basis or part-time. Not only do they keep their communities safe, they often have full-time jobs elsewhere.
Such was the case of Régis Lavoie, 55, and Christopher Lavoie, 23, who were swept away by the Gouffre River on Monday while trying to help residents.
According to Benoît Martel, a retired firefighter from the Montreal Fire Department and former head of the nautical sector, there are two realities in Quebec: those of large communities and those of smaller ones.
Firefighters in major cities have full-time, permanent positions. They have 1200 hours of professional training and very often a college degree in fire safety.
In the smallest communities, where the vast majority of Quebec firefighters work, the training is vastly different.
Firefighters have much less training. It is often given by instructors in the area, often on weekends or in the evenings through their personal lives.
explains Benoît Martel.
basic training
This is Level 1 training that takes about 400 hours, three times less than professional firefighters. This basic training does not include any specialization such as B. rescues in confined spaces, operations on a body of water or nautical rescues.
says André Bourassa, Vice President of the Quebec Federation of Fire Safety Stakeholders (FQISI) and has been a firefighter for 45 years.
Specializations are not regulated by law, so it is up to each municipality to decide whether to offer them to their employees. On the other hand, according to André Bourassa, they do not necessarily have the means to pay for specialized training in all the areas that they technically need.
” It’s very much a question of money. Municipalities have limited financial resources. When we talk about specialized training, there are costs involved. »
According to Benoît Martel, Quebec fire departments need an overhaul. There are a lot of things that have been added to the work of firefighters, so the main thing we have to do is to provide training and also to provide equipment.
he said.
” Firefighters all have the same goal: to save and help people. But even in 2024, you need the right training and equipment to be able to carry out rescues safely and, above all, to be able to return home at night. »
equipment
The two firefighters were on board an amphibious vehicle, which means it can move just as well on water as it does on land. According to André Bourassa, the device was totally unsuitable for the type of flooding in Charlevoix.
It was a whitewater intervention, it was a torrent, not of water [claire]but very dense muddy water. […] It’s crazy how extreme it can get
he explains.
” Without the right equipment, we cannot intervene. But no one will stand by and watch as people are affected, and we don’t know how quickly the situation has escalated. »
In just a year and a half, five firefighters have lost their lives in action in Quebec. Among them were four volunteers.
Additionally, coroner Géhane Kamel pointed to the lack of water rescue training in her report on the 2021 death of firefighter Pierre Lacroix. He was swept away by the current during a mission near Montreal.
Radio-Canada could not confirm that Christopher Lavoie and Régis Lavoie had received special training to be able to respond appropriately to flood and sea rescue operations.
Investigations into the causes and circumstances of the disappearance of the two firefighters are ongoing. The Sûreté du Québec works with various partners, including the Commission on Standards, Equal Opportunity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST).
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