The fire at the Good Shepherd Monastery last spring was allegedly caused by a loose exhaust pipe inside the heritage building, we learn in a $10.5 million lawsuit against the City of Montreal.
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“The exhaust pipe of the Chapel generator would have been installed improperly, and as a result the combustion gases would have heated the steel chimney, which would have pyrolyzed the wood of the Chapel roof,” we mention in the suit filed Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse.
The Sourire à la vie housing co-op and its insurance company, La Souveraine, are claiming a total of $10.5 million from the City of Montreal for the damage caused to the monastery, since the latter is the owner. The amount could, however, be higher since the work is still underway in the 27 housing units.
It took more than 24 hours to extinguish the large blaze which broke out on May 25 in the chapel built around 1846. The exact cause was still unknown until today.
“Gross negligence with regard to fire fighting would have been committed by the [Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal]“, we also allege in the lawsuit.
Archive photo QMI Agency
The Good Shepherd Monastery, which was classified as a heritage monument by the Quebec government in 1979, included a recognized concert hall, but also 37 housing units for the elderly, a daycare and condominiums.
The responsible city
The housing cooperative and its insurer affirm that the City should have “taken all necessary measures to ensure that the installations of the Chapel, in particular the generator and its exhaust pipe, are compliant”.
The latter is therefore “responsible for damages resulting from the lack of maintenance and installation of the Chapelle generator and the exhaust pipe”, we can read.
According to the suit, the City, the Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal and the Montreal Fire Department “refuse, omit or neglect to pay any sum whatsoever to La Souveraine and la Coop, although duly required to to do”.
Listed as historic, the monastery will have to be rebuilt and restored, said Mayor Valérie Plante during the fire.