Montrealers say they were not warned by authorities that a lockdown notice was affecting their neighborhood Monday, following a lithium fire at the Port of Montreal.
At 6:51 p.m., about four hours after the fire started, the City of Montreal issued a lockdown notice on its website for a large block in the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough, between Haig, Hochelaga, Vimont and the St. Lawrence River. Affected residents were asked to stay indoors, close their windows and turn off their ventilation systems to avoid breathing smoke from the fire. The notice was shared by the City on Facebook and X.
However, several citizens met by The Press Tuesday morning, the day after the chemical fire, had not received any such notice. And a power outage limited their ability to get information.
“I didn’t find it that good that there was no alert on the phone or anything like that,” lamented Ross S., who did not want The Press publishes his last name. His residence is in the residential area targeted by the lockdown notice. “No one contacted me,” he continued. “I found it very strange: we receive messages for lost children in Quebec City, but when there is an emergency right next door, we receive no information.”
“My aunt called to say she saw on the news that it said to stay home and close the windows. She’s in Longueuil,” said Allison Poole, who has three young children. “It smelled really bad outside. We lost power. No information, no alarm, nothing.” The smell of smoke had already prompted her to close their windows.
The lockdown notice was lifted by the City of Montreal at 10:45 p.m., according to the City of Montreal website. “Even though the intervention could still last a few hours, the tests carried out confirm that any danger to the health and safety of the population has been eliminated,” the municipality indicated.
On Tuesday morning at 9:25 a.m., however, the Quebec Ministry of Public Security reacted for the first time on social media since the beginning of this emergency situation. “It is important to stay inside, close doors, windows and ventilation systems,” the ministry indicated, more than fourteen hours late.
The Québec en alerte website, which brings together all public safety notices issued by the government, does not contain any alerts related to Monday’s fire.
The sirens installed in the east of Montreal in the event of an industrial accident were not activated.
The City of Montreal and the Ministry of Public Security did not immediately return calls. The Press. The elected officials of the Plante administration refused the interview request of The Press.