Montréal, 27 April 2016 - The Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal (SIM) had a year full of major accomplishments in 2015, as shown by the 2015 activity report that it released today. As the largest fire department in Quebec and the second largest in Canada, the SIM has 2,800 employees, including more than 2,400 firefighters. Its total number of interventions continued to rise in 2015, to 127,050. Of these, 81,143 were incidents in which first-response firefighters were called to medical emergencies.

Seven people lost their lives in six fatal fires in 2015. The number of such deaths has continued to fall over the past four years, down from 16 in 2011 to 7 in 2015. The average age of these victims was 75 this year. According to François Massé, Director of the SIM and civil security co-ordinator for the Montréal agglomeration, fire safety education and awareness for seniors is a priority. “Most of these tragedies occurred during minor incidents in the homes of autonomous seniors who were the owner-occupants of their dwellings. We are doing everything possible to reach out to vulnerable individuals,” Mr. Massé says.

Various measures aimed exclusively at the elderly were introduced for this purpose in 2015: an educational conference and prevention activity booklet were developed. In addition, the By-law concerning the subsidy for the improvement of fire safety in private seniors’ residences came into effect. Under the by-law, subsidies are available for improving fire safety in private seniors’ residence by installing sprinkler systems or completing existing sprinkler systems.

Highlights of the department’s prevention activities in 2015:

• Through out different measures, we reached nearly a 100,000 homes to ensure the presence of smoke alarms and their proper working order
• Close to 115,000 Montrealers learned about fire safety and civil security during Montréal Fire Prevention and Emergency Management Month
• Over 222,000 people were reached during activities organized by the public education section

The SIM also stepped up its efforts to promote firefighting as a career for women, members of ethnic and visible minorities and aboriginal people. Some thirty conferences were given in high schools to young people in the targeted communities, along with workshops, information sessions, information booths and meetings with the communities concerned.

Lastly, a provincial initiative, suggested by the department in 2011 in conjunction with an investigation, resulted in an item concerning smoke alarms being added to the Régie du logement du Québec lease form. Since 2015, landlords and tenants have been asked to respect the by-law stipulating that all dwellings must have functioning smoke alarms. This initiative is sure to increase awareness and encourage landlords and tenants to assume their respective responsibilities regarding smoke alarms. Remember that smoke alarms are not optional, but mandatory, and can save lives in the event of a fire.

The Direction de la sécurité civile et de la résilience was active on the municipal scene last year. It fulfilled its role as a leader in civil protection throughout the Montréal agglomeration, in part by co-ordinating a test of sirens in co-operation with high-risk industries in different parts of the island, and issued a notice of civil security for eight projects, one of which was a technical notice concerning rail safety and oil transportation. It also focused on increasing awareness of the importance of emergency preparedness for major disasters, as it has done for several years already. In this regard, it held a special activity in May 2015, in which residents were invited to come out and get an essential part of any 72-hour emergency kit: a bottle of water. The theme of drinking water was chosen to make people think about how essential water is in their daily lives.

To read the full 2015 activity report (in French), go to the SIM website.