Gaps in Montreal fire department's dangerous, vacant building list under scrutiny

Workplace health and safety inspectors will sit down with Montreal fire department officials today to review the department's vacant and dangerous buildings list to see if any changes need to be made.

Earlier this month, CBC Montreal Investigatesreported that list, which firefighters rely on to keep them safe, was incomplete.

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After CBC compared the fire department's list with empty and possibly dangerous buildings that city boroughs know about, we found many buildings on the boroughs' lists were missing from the fire department's master list suggesting a major communication breakdown.

One of the derelict buildings the fire department was not aware of had cars and flammable material stored inside.

At another, a hole has burned right through the roof into the ceiling below, likely caused by a campfire started by squatters.

CBC showed the buildings to Chris Ross, vice-president of the Montreal firefighters union. He was stunned the fire department didn't know about them.

That master list of vacant and dangerous buildings will be the focus of today's meeting between the fire department and the province's workplace health and safety board known by its French acronym CNESST.

"We see now there might be a problem," said CNESST spokeswoman Alexandra Burnet. She describes the meeting as "explanatory," to look at what the issues are and how they can be addressed.

"We will see if any new recommendations need to be made," said Burnet.

Firefighter death led to major changes

In December 1990, Lt. Ren Mass was killed after he was trapped in a burning, vacant building on St-Hubert Street.

After his death, the CSST(CNESST's predecessor) ordered the fire department to keep an inventory of vacant and dangerous buildings.

Firefighters now depend on this list to warn them of additional hazards they mightencounter, such as weak walls, holes in the floor or toxic chemicals.

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Every building on the list is inspected by the fire department every six months. Each time a new building is added to the list, every firefighter in that district is required to visit it, so they are aware of the risks.

When CBC's report was published, the fire department's assistant director, Denis Doucet, said the findings were worrisome.

"I can guarantee that we are taking action to check whether these discrepancies really exist," Doucet said at the time.

The meeting withCNESSTcomes after twomajor fires in the past week destroyed neglected, unused buildings on St-Laurent Boulevard and on Parc Avenue.

In both those cases, the firefighters were aware of the buildings and the hazards inside, which helped guide them in how to best fight the fires.