Report from the OH&S Canada magazine (Spring 2024)
Quebec’s workplace safety board says a lack of training and equipment contributed to the deaths of two firefighters during a flood northeast of Quebec City in May 2023.
The volunteer firefighters were using an amphibious vehicle equipped with tracks and an outboard motor in an attempt to reach residents of a house that was surrounded by floodwaters in the small community of St-Urbain, Que.
The board says the current of the swollen Gouffre River swept the vehicle off course and into a tree, throwing the men into the river.
In its report, the board says that it was inappropriate to use the vehicle in a flooded field.
It also found that the operation lacked planning and that the firefighters didn’t have the appropriate skills, knowledge or equipment to attempt the rescue.
The victims were identified last year as 23-year-old Christopher Lavoie and 55-year-old Regis Lavoie, who were not related.
CBC report
With a lack of direction from municipal authorities and insufficient resources, the firefighters made the decision to attempt the rescue using a personal amphibious vehicle, which was not designed for use in fast-moving waters of that depth.
Expert testimony heard last spring during the course of the coroner’s public inquiry determined the only safe intervention on that fateful day would have been for the two men not to intervene.
At the time of the attempted rescue, they were wearing heavy firefighting gear, known as bunker suits, but were not wearing personal flotation devices. Available life jackets, according to a 2024 report by Quebec’s workplace health and safety board (CNESST), were not adjusted to be worn over firefighting equipment.
A subsequent study carried out by the CNESST, in a controlled environment, showed that firefighters wearing full gear during interventions on or near the water will in turn become victims in need of rescuing if they fall in the water.
“They meant well, they wanted to go and help,” the coroner said of the two men, “but they did not put their safety first” and were maybe unaware of the risks involved.
My opinion
The need for JHA, Job Hazard Assessment or Analysis, is necessary, especially when a rare condition, such as a flood, can make rescue attempts almost impossible.
Too bad they were not wearing life jackets. Enough said.
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Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Advanced Level
CEO & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.