The Montreal fire chief said he was very worried by the proliferation of vacant buildings in the city center, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Richard Liebmann believes that these buildings pose a higher fire risk and that they are on the rise in recent months.
“I have a lot of concerns for the years to come, because the pandemic has hit a lot of very strong businesses and small businesses,” he said on Friday afternoon. “We see a significant increase [du nombre] of vacant buildings. ”
Mr Liebmann said his men had had to fight “some big fires in vacant buildings, especially in the city center” at the end of last year.
The fire chief was speaking to the City of Montreal’s Finance Commission, which is responsible for studying the 2021 financial statements and the 2022 budgets of the various municipal services.
The Montreal Fire Department (SIM) manages a budget of 363 million and has approximately 2,750 employees.