Montréal, 15 April 2015 - Montréal fire department (SIM) had a very busy year last year, as shown by the 2014 activity report that it submitted today.

Education and awareness 
With its many fire prevention and civil security activities and programs, the SIM works to educate residents of the Montréal agglomeration about what to do in the event of a fire or disaster. Prevention as a way of reducing the number of tragic incidents remains a priority. “The SIM works very hard to reduce the number of fires and deaths on the Island of Montréal. There was a significant decline in the number of lives lost to fires in Montréal in 2014,” says Anie Samson, Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee in charge of public safety and resident services.

According to François Massé, Director of the SIM and civil security co-ordinator for the Montréal agglomeration, the department’s employees play a key role in carrying out this mission. “In light of the data in the report, I am happy to see that all the efforts devoted to fire safety education and awareness are bearing fruit and improving Montrealers’ safety.”

A few of the department’s accomplishments:

• SIM employees visited 70,000 homes to inspect smoke detectors 
• Nearly 110,000 Montrealers learned about fire prevention and civil security during fire prevention and safety month in Montréal 
• Over 226,000 people were reached during activities and talks given by firefighters from the public education section

Deep community roots
Every year, SIM employees carry out numerous initiatives as a way of forging closer bonds with their community. Their objective is to “pay it forward” through their involvement in various projects. In 2014, for instance, a partnership between the SIM and the Grand défi Pierre Lavoie made it possible to give cubes filled with sports equipment to 43 Montréal schools – an $80,000 donation. Another key event allowing Montrealers to meet and chat with our teams was the open house day held at one-third of our fire stations in May, when close to 11,000 visitors had a chance to meet firefighters and prevention officers.

Interventions 
The department’s total number of interventions continued to rise in 2014. Our employees responded to 126,150 calls of all kinds, including 80,829 incidents in which first-response fire fighters were called to medical emergencies. First-responder calls accounted for 64% of all interventions carried out by the department’s firefighters.

Two new fire stations
Two new fire stations were opened in 2014: Station 32, in the Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles Borough, and Station 59, in the Pierrefonds-Roxboro Borough. These locations were chosen to reduce response time in these areas and better protect residents.

To read the full 2014 activity report (in French), go to the SIM website.