Nearly 15 years ago, a report already indicated that certain boats used by the Montreal Fire Department (SIM) were problematic. But it was only recently that the City became aware of this document and put boats out of service. A decision taken 11 months after the death of firefighter Pierre Lacroix in tragic circumstances.
The death of Mr. Lacroix, who died during a nautical rescue intervention on October 17, 2021 in the Lachine Rapids, is attributable to shortcomings in the training of the crew and problems with the stability of the boat in condition. towing, concluded Thursday the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) in a report made public Thursday.
At 7:10 p.m. that day, firefighters from fire station 64 of the Fire Safety Department (SIM) had received a request to intervene to come to the aid of a drifting pleasure boat which was then at east of the Honoré-Mercier bridge.
On board the HammerHead model 1864 boat, the four firefighters carried out an approach maneuver to tow the pleasure boat, but they found themselves in a wave 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 until the next day and was declared dead.
Nearly a year after the tragic event, the CNESST notes that the weight distribution of the firefighters in the boat, the displacement of the water which rushed into it and the positioning in the hollow of the wave caused the overturning of the boat during the approach manoeuvre. The crew attempted a back-up maneuver, but this failed because the engine did not give enough power, underlines the CNESST.
“A large quantity of water quickly invaded the bow of the 1864. The positioning of the firefighters on the bow of the boat, the speed with which a large quantity of water invaded the bow and the phenomenon of free surface caused an almost immediate capsizing of the boat,” the report says.
The CNESST also indicates “that the stability tests initially carried out on the 1864 did not take into account the effect of towing. »
According to the CNESST, the firefighters also worked on the basis of incomplete information because the sector of the Lachine rapids where they intervened was outside the limits of navigability of their boat. The existence of this forbidden zone was known to the firefighters, but it was impossible for them to locate it. However, in the wake of another capsizing in 2010, the SIM had agreed to put in place measures to record the prohibited area in all GPS.
Finally, the training of the crew and the responders of the riverside command post was inadequate, which endangered the firefighters, concludes the CNESST.
A problematic boat
Craft 1864, which belongs to SIM, is a 6.4 meter long boat with only one engine. This is not the first time that a boat of this type has capsized. On May 1, 2009, another vessel capsized during a planned training period off Île Sainte-Thérèse, in the Port of Montreal. After this event, the hinged doors fitted in the rear part of the hull had been condemned on all the boats of the same type.
Another spill occurred on March 25, 2010 during training in the Lachine Rapids sector. The SIM had subsequently recommended drafting a memo specifying the zone prohibited to navigation in the Lachine rapids and recording these prohibited zones in the GPS navigation systems.
On Thursday, the head of public safety on the executive committee, Alain Vaillancourt, indicated that the three other Hammerhead boats had been withdrawn as a precaution. “The tragedy that occurred on October 17, 2021 marked all Montrealers. That evening, one of our firefighters did not return home. A coroner’s inquest is underway to shed light on these tragic circumstances and we are actively collaborating with the authorities to obtain information,” said Mr. Vaillancourt. “If there are things that need to be improved or put in place, we will do it. »
The elected official however revealed that the management of the SIM had recently been informed of the existence of a report dating from 2008 raising doubts concerning 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 this affair. We do not currently know why the City waited nearly 15 years to follow the recommendations of this report.
Twelve new boats, of the Titan model, are called upon to replace the Hammerheads, but they are not yet in service. “These are very high-tech boats,” assured the elected official. Training will be put in place for these new boats.
Asked about the fact that the firefighters had to intervene in a “prohibited” area, Alain Vaillancourt had this comment: “When a firefighter goes out, he is there to save lives, that’s why they are in the service. He wants to save lives. I’m not going to judge the work of a firefighter. »
Note that the City has 30 days to respond to the recommendations of the CNESST.