On March 16, Carling Sioui almost joined the victims of the Old Montreal fire were it not for her boyfriend’s courage and her badly sealed window.
• Also read: Old Montreal Fire: Last Two Victims Identified
The 26-year-old told TVA Nouvelles about her horrific experience; She admits she had to wait several days before she could talk about it.
“It’s absolutely horrible and it’s nonsense that shouldn’t have happened,” she says.
It was the fire alarm that woke the two people, who at first didn’t believe it was a real fire. However, the screams of other residents of the building made them understand that the situation was very serious.
“We took everything we could and tried to open the door. There was a lot of noise in the hallway. We didn’t know where the emergency exit was, so we quickly closed the door and went to the window,” says Carling Sioui.
She and her boyfriend had great difficulty opening the windows. However, one of them was held down with tape and they managed to get outside. Not being on the ground floor, the duo found themselves on a 12-inch wall edge, waiting for help.
“We stood, barefoot, leaning against the wall, facing the wall,” says Ms. Sioui.
To see the full explanation, watch the video above.