Since the deaths of seven people in the fire that destroyed a heritage building in Old Montreal last March, the fire service says it is taking tougher action against delinquent property owners and conducting more numerous and targeted inspections.
Published yesterday at 8:44 p.m.
In addition, the city of Montreal will announce in its 2024 budget the necessary funds to hire 33 new prevention officers, with the aim of improving the effectiveness of its cadre, La Presse has learned.
“We are seeing more violations and that confirms to us that we are on the right track because we are focusing on the most problematic buildings,” said Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM) head Richard Liebmann on Tuesday. after a presentation to the city’s Public Safety Commission.
The change began in 2022. Our inspections are more complex and take more time, but risk saving more lives if we address anomalies and demand a return to compliance.
Richard Liebmann, head of Montreal’s fire department
Inspectors have toughened their tone towards owners of unsafe buildings and sent them formal notices to carry out the necessary work, even though such measures have not been used against offenders for several years, Mr Liebmann also notes.
Reports of violations
Since the tragedy in Old Montreal, the SIM has been on the hot seat. The investigation revealed that the fire was intentionally set, making it a case of murder. But the owner of the building that was reduced to rubble had received several violation notices over the past 14 years for failing to comply with all measures that would allow the site to be safely evacuated. It is not clear whether corrections were made following SIM interventions.
On the night of March 16, 22 people were in the listed building on Place d’Youville. Six escaped the flames unharmed, nine were injured and seven died, some of whom had rented accommodation through the Airbnb platform.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
On the night of March 16, 22 people were in the listed building on Place d’Youville when the fire broke out.
The assessment of the measures taken by the SIM since this incident, presented to the Public Security Commission, had been requested by the opposition in the municipal council, but this remained unsatisfied.
Since the start of 2023, SIM has carried out 5,752 inspections, compared to 4,531 during the same period in 2022, according to data announced this evening by Richard Liebmann.
Last April, the SIM launched Operation Vulcain, the aim of which was to inspect buildings built before 1946, first in the Ville-Marie district, which includes Old Montreal, and then across the entire island of Montreal. This action allowed the inspection of 460 buildings, the detection of 2,042 violations and the sending of 13 formal notices to the owners so that they can take corrective actions.
In three cases the owners have already complied with the requests, in the other ten cases measures have been taken to solve the problems identified.
Beyond fines
“We observed what didn’t work before. We conducted inspections but did not necessarily achieve the desired return to compliance. “With the legal department, we have found tools to demand a return to compliance instead of just issuing fines and tickets,” emphasizes the fire chief in an interview with La Presse.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
“We want to inform the owner promptly, we want their commitment, their support and a quick return to compliance,” emphasizes Chantal Bibeau.
“The delays were too long beforehand. If it takes 18 months to have compliant emergency exits, that is far too long. “We want to inform the owner in a timely manner, we want his commitment, his support and a quick return to compliance,” adds SIM deputy director Chantal Bibeau.
According to Alan DeSousa, mayor of the Saint-Laurent district and member of the opposition, the results presented by the SIM lacked clarity, in a context where inspections have been steadily declining since 2017 and the tragedy of March 16 should have raised alarm bells.
“It’s a matter of life and death,” he lamented. Are the checks carried out just a drop in the ocean? Will it take 20 years to inspect all listed buildings? »
Some data was disclosed by SIM before the Public Security Commission
300% increase in reports of non-compliant buildings since the fire in Old Montreal.
Operation Sentinel, during the Canadian Grand Prix and on Valentine’s Day
- 61 companies checked
- 12 excess capacity
- 13 court cases
Vacancy inspections in April 2023
- 54 buildings inspected
- 8 barricaded buildings
Evacuation times for residential buildings in the event of a fire
- 30 years ago: 17 minutes
- Today: 3 to 4 minutes
Because of :
- Aging of the population
- New residents in Montreal
- New risks such as lithium-ion batteries
- Aging of buildings
- Urban densification
- Flammability of materials (faster spread for synthetic materials)