Westmount responds as five-alarm fire leaves 50 residents homeless

No one was hurt in the blaze, but residents of 32 apartments were made homeless and property damage to the heritage building was extensive.

While Montreal firefighters were in the front line dealing with the blaze, Westmount — with help from the Red Cross — took over care of those displaced.

One of the biggest challenges to a municipality is reacting to emergencies. The Public Security unit was first to be involved, sharing traffic diversion duties with police so that firefighters had clear access.

In addition to Sherbrooke and Mount Stephen, many streets in the surrounding area were closed to traffic.

Director-General Bruce St Louis was called at his West Island home at about 10:30 p.m. and immediately drove to the scene. He found that all the residents had been evacuated, with about a dozen sheltering in one of the buses that the Montreal fire department takes to residential blazes.

A team from the Red Cross, which regularly responds with the Montreal fire fighters, arrived about the same time as St. Louis, and Sun Youth followed soon afterwards.

Library opened

Ann Moffat, director of Library Services, is part of the emergency team with responsibility for sheltering any homeless. St. Louis called her and they decided to open the Library rather than Victoria Hall, the designated emergency building.

“The fire’s victims were in the bus with nothing to do but watch their homes being destroyed by the fire,” the director-general explained. “We realized the Library would be a more calming place and the bus took them there.

“We also arranged that, as other occupants, who were out when the fire started, returned to the building, the firefighters would refer them to the shelter in the Library.

“Our goal was to stay until everyone had been taken care of. If others had showed up, we would have re-opened.

“I was very satisfied with how everything worked as an Emergency Measures Operation,” St. Louis said. “We had not previously had an event that involved so many different players.

“Public Security and the police quickly arranged a security zone around the incident. All the officers on duty were at the scene, except one left in the office to answer calls.

“One PSO also attended in the Library, a routine move when we open a shelter. Throughout, the fire chiefs kept us informed and there were no communication problems.”

Pro-Mayor called

Once the evacuees were safely in the shelter, St. Louis alerted Pro-Mayor George Bowser, who visited the Library and the fire scene. The councillor’s wife, Beryl Bowser — a committed community volunteer — also turned out in support.

“I was impressed about the orderly way people were going about the response,” the pro-mayor said. “Obviously the evacuees were upset, but they were not distraught or panicky.

“Everybody who needed to be there was present.”

Bowser was especially impressed with the help given by the Red Cross.

“They interviewed everyone at some length, gave them a food voucher and offered clothes for those who needed them. All the evacuees were given an overnight toilet bag, too.

“We don’t want such emergencies, but it was rewarding to see that help in the middle of the night was so organized," the councillor added.

Bowser also visited the fire scene while “huge flames were still leaping from the roof.” It was the first time he had been close to such a blaze.

“Given the number of trucks and people and hoses that were involved, there was potential for chaos, but everyone was going about their jobs in a quiet, effective manner.

Saving the building

“I hope the building will be saved, but that is up to the owner and what the engineers have to say.”

Most of the evacuees were able to go to alternative accommodation with family or friends, but some were booked into hotels by the Red Cross.

The Library was closed at about 4:30 a.m. “However, if more victims had shown up, we had arranged that we would reopen,” St. Louis added.

The building consists of two linked blocks. The fire began in a second floor apartment in the northernmost block.

All 16 apartments in the block were destroyed and are without a roof. Another 16 in the block nearest Sherbrooke Street received smoke and water damage making them uninhabitable.

The cause still has not been determined, but there is no suggestion of a criminal nature.

A seven-man crew from the Westmount fire station on Stanton Street was first to arrive, at 10:06 p.m., to what was regarded as a two-alarm fire. At 10:40 p.m. it was declared a five-alarm and 26 firefighting vehicles and about 150 personnel converged on the scene.

The total vehicle count involved during the whole incident was 56, including support equipment and the cars of the rotating fire chiefs and specialists who attended.

The fire spread to the third floor and then to the roof. It raged for nearly 13 hours, finally being declared extinguished at 10:50 a.m. on Thursday.

That evening, the Library’s Westmount Room was the venue for another meeting of the evacuees. This was attended by many more people who had been affected.

Snow clearing

The fire occurred on a bitterly cold night following the 22 cm. snowfall of the previous two days.

But, because Westmount Public Works have recently changed their clearing procedures — clearing both sides of major streets before going on to secondary streets (previously they would do only one side) — Sherbrooke Street was relatively clear. This made it easier for the firefighters, but the heavy snow on Mount Stephen caused additional difficulties.

After the fire, Public Works crews moved in to reduce the water on the street to minimize the ice formation.

Third apartment fire

This is the third serious apartment fire in Westmount in the last seven years – the blazes on Academy Road and on Melville Ave. also left families homeless.

Daniel DeVries, the former Westmount fireman who is now station chief responsible for fire prevention here and in the neighboring boroughs, did not speculate but he is keen to see apartment protection stepped up.

Concerned over the lack of fire inspections since the forced merger, Westmount city council two years ago introduced a 'Fire Patrol'. Students, working with De Vries, spent the summer going door-to-door checking smoke detectors and carrying the fire prevention message.

These experiments were considered so successful that they will be repeated this summer, this time concentrating on the city’s approximately 100 apartment buildings. The students will be installing new batteries, supplied by Westmount, in fire alarms, De Vries added.

Westmount’s famous junior firefighters’ training programme has provided generations of young people with basic fire prevention skills. But it is threatened by lack of interest. Last year it was cancelled as no children signed up.

“I’d like to see the basics taught in schools,” De Vries said, including such things as the use of fire extinguishers and the Heimlich Manoeuvre to stop choking.

• Community activist Don Wedge can be reached at calert@web.net.