Almost 15 years ago, a report cast doubt on the safety of certain Montreal Fire Department (SIM) boats. But only recently did the city take notice of this document and put boats out of service. A decision made in tragic circumstances almost a year after the death of firefighter Pierre Lacroix.

“There has been a lack of seriousness in addressing the needs of firefighters in terms of training and equipment,” responded Thursday to the Have to Montreal Firefighters Association President Chris Ross, who believes the city could have acted much sooner on this file.

The death of Mr. Lacroix, who died in the Lachine Rapids during a nautical rescue operation on October 17, 2021, is attributed to deficiencies in crew training and a combination of factors that led to the boat capsizing while being towed, concluded on Thursday the Commission on Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) in a report released.

At 7:10 p.m. that day, firefighters from Fire Safety Department (SIM) Fire Station 64 had received a call to intervene to come to the aid of a drifting pleasure craft that was then east of the Honoré Mercier Bridge.

Aboard the HammerHead Model 1864 boat, the four firefighters made an approach maneuver to tow the pleasure boat, but found themselves caught in a trough and their boat capsized. The four firefighters find themselves in the water. Three of them were fished out, but Pierre Lacroix, who remained trapped under the boat, was not found and pronounced dead until the next day.

Almost a year after the tragic event, CNESST determined that the firefighters’ weight distribution in the boat, the displacement of the inflowing water and the positioning in the trough of the waves led to the boat overturning during the approach maneuver. The crew attempted a back-up manoeuvre, but failed because the engine was not producing enough power, CNESST points out.

CNESST also notes that “the stability tests originally performed on the 1864 did not take into account the effects of towing.”

According to CNESST, the firefighters also worked on the basis of incomplete information because the section of the Lachine Rapids where they intervened was beyond the limits of their boat’s navigability. The existence of this exclusion zone was known to the firefighters, but they were unable to locate it. However, after another capsize in 2010, the SIM had agreed to take action to record the restricted area in all GPS devices.

Finally, the crew and operational personnel at the Coastal Command Post had insufficient training, which put firefighters at risk, the conclusion said The 45-page report.

“A towing was therefore carried out in an improvised way with a boat not authorized for this use, in a prohibited zone called Non-Intervention and in seaworthiness conditions that exceed the limits of this Class C boat. »

A problematic boat

Craft 1864, owned by SIM, is a 6.4 meter single engine boat. It’s not the first time a boat of this type has capsized. On May 1, 2009, another ship capsized off Île Sainte-Thérèse in the Port of Montreal during a planned training period. After this event, the wing doors placed in the rear part of the hull had been condemned on all boats of the same type.

Another burial occurred on March 25, 2010 while training in the Lachine Rapids sector. The SIM then recommended that a memo be drawn up specifying the prohibited zones for navigating the Lachine Rapids and recording these prohibited zones in the GPS navigation systems.

On Thursday, the chief of public safety on the executive committee, Alain Vaillancourt, indicated that the three other Hammerhead boats had been withdrawn as a precautionary measure. “The tragedy that happened on October 17, 2021 scarred all Montrealers. That evening one of our firefighters did not return home. A coroner’s investigation is underway to shed light on these tragic circumstances and we are actively working with the authorities to obtain information,” said Mr Vaillancourt. “If there are things that need to be improved or implemented, we will do that. »

However, the elected official revealed that SIM management had recently been informed of the existence of a 2008 report casting doubt on the Hammerhead boats. “As soon as we learned that this report existed, we acted quickly by removing the Hammerhead boats,” in addition to launching an internal investigation to shed light on certain gray areas surrounding the affair. This enabled the city to discover that in the same year, 2008, another report contradicted the conclusions of the first analysis.

“The internal investigation and that of the coroner will allow us to better understand the decision sequence of 15 years ago,” he said on Thursday Have to Marikym Gaudreault, press officer in the office of Mayor Valérie Plante.

Meanwhile, twelve new Titan model boats are being requested to replace the Hammerheads. However, these are not yet operational. These are very high-tech boats,” the elected official assured. A training course will be set up for these new boats.

“This is our great disappointment with the CNESST report: it shows that not much has changed at the scene since the accident, aside from the boats withdrawing a few days ago,” said Chris Ross of the Montreal Firefighters Association.

CNESST has also come to expand the area where firefighters do not theoretically have the right to intervene, but that measure is “illusory” according to Chris Ross. “If you answer there and need to be sent there, there isn’t a firefighter who chooses not to go […] This is the basis of our business. A firefighter entering the profession does so to save lives. »

The opposition to the town hall regretted that media revelations were necessary for the administration to act. “In the face of a CNESST reprimand and a public coroner’s inquiry, we would normally expect much better and much more,” advises Abdelhaq Sari, adviser to Ensemble Montréal.

CNESST served a criminal offense under Section 237 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (AOHS) on the City of Montreal. Fines for this type of offense range from $17,660 to $70,727.

Note that the city has 30 days to respond to CNESST’s recommendations.

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