Montreal had halted investigations into evacuation routes years before deadly fire, mayor admits

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has acknowledged that fire inspectors stopped investigating building evacuation routes in 2018, years before the 2023 fire that ripped through an Old Montreal heritage building, leaving seven people dead.

Former tenants and guests have previously told CBC News they were concerned about the safety of the building, and inspection reports have shown problems with the emergency exits were repeatedly flagged more than a decade before the fire on March 16.

Plante told city council Tuesday that a moratorium on investigations went into effect in 2018 at the request of Quebec's provincial prosecutor's office. According to Plante, prosecutors advised the fire department they were unable to take some of the cases against building owners to court because the evidence gathered by the department's inspectors was insufficient.

The moratorium was first reported Monday in The Globe and Mail and later confirmed with documents obtained by Radio-Canada.

On Tuesday, Plante said she had not been made aware of the moratorium prior to the news report.

But Plante said that after speaking with the fire department, she learned that investigations into evacuation routes had resumed in 2021, prior to the Old Montreal fire, contrary to what was suggested in the Globe and Mail.

Responding to a question from the Ensemble Montréal leader, Aref Salem, Plante said she wants to "shine a light" on the situation and make sure the fire department has sufficient resources to inspect buildings in Montreal.

In a statement,Salem said his party was "shocked" that Plante had not known about the moratorium.

"If information of this magnitude escapes her, what other vital information is she missing?" he asked.

According to a memo obtained by Radio-Canada, the moratorium on investigations into evacuation routes — which include, for instance, emergency exit signage and doors that meet the safety code — was issued Oct. 26, 2018.

The memo says the moratorium was issued because of inspectors' lack of training, as well as standards that differed from those of the Régie du bâtiment, the province's building authority.

Documents previously obtained by CBC News show fire inspectors repeatedly flagged problems at the site of the Old Montreal building, located at the intersection of Place d'Youville and du Port Street.

A fire inspector found 10 violations during a visit to the building in May 2018, including the lack of a working fire alarm, no clear signage for the emergency exits and a missing smoke detector in the stairway. 

The problems had not been addressed when the inspector returned in September of that year.