The Quebec coroner’s public hearings into the deaths of two Saint-Urbain volunteer firefighters who lost their lives on May 1, 2023, during a flood in the Charlevoix region begin Monday.
Chaired by coroner Andrée Kronstrom, the public part of the inquest will take place at the La Malbaie courthouse.
An initial series of hearings will take place from Monday to Wednesday, while other witnesses will be heard on April 29 and 30, and from May 13 to 17.
Kronstrom’s enquiry will look into the deaths of Christopher Lavoie, aged 23, and Régis Lavoie, aged 55, two volunteer firefighters who lost their lives after falling into the water while trying to help citizens whose property was flooded after the Rivière du Gouffre overflowed its banks.
The aim of the enquiry is to propose solutions to better protect human life, but it is not intended to establish the civil or criminal liability of any individual.
On Monday, after the coroner’s opening statement and the administrative proceedings, a number of civilian witnesses and members of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) will give their version of events.
Marylou Lavoie, Régis Lavoie’s daughter, will testify.
Later in the investigation, other volunteer firefighters from Saint-Urbain, elected municipal officials and rescue experts will give their testimony.
In March, a report by the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) shed light on the deaths of the two firefighters.
The firefighters were travelling in an amphibious vehicle equipped with tracks and an outboard motor, but halfway along the route the vehicle began to drift and was swept away by the current, ending up stuck against a tree.
According to the CNESST, “the lack of training for work near and above water exposed firefighters to the danger of drowning, when they do not have the necessary skills, knowledge and equipment.”
A number of recommendations have therefore been made to the École nationale des pompiers, the Ministère de l’Éducation, the Ministère de la Sécurité publique, the Union des municipalités du Québec and the Fédération québécoise des municipalités.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 15, 2024.