Quebec coroner calls out ‘hero firefighter’ culture in 2023 flooding deaths
MONTREAL — A Quebec coroner says the province’s firefighting academy should warn students that “hero” culture can sometimes lead firefighters to overlook their own safety in their attempts to save others.
Coroner Andrée Kronström made the comments in her report on the deaths of volunteer firefighters Christopher Lavoie and Régis Lavoie, who perished in May 2023 trying to save a couple during intense flooding in Quebec’s Charlevoix region.
Their deaths were the result of a chain of factors — including the fact they used an amphibious vehicle to cross a flooded field to save a man and woman trapped in their home in St-Urbain, Que., northeast of Quebec City.
Kronström told reporters today in La Malbaie, Que., that the local emergency plan wasn’t widely known, a fact that prevented officials from properly deploying resources.
