Fire safety officer suspended after grandstand closure fiasco on Grand Prix weekend

A fire safety officer with the city’s fire department has been suspended following the controversial closure of restaurant terraces on Peel Street during Montreal’s Grand Prix weekend.

“The situation was worrying, so the city manager’s office decided to open an internal, administrative investigation to shed light on what happened because … what happened was unacceptable and the city manager’s office decided to suspend an employee,” said Luc Rabouin, chairman of the mayor’s executive committee, during a press conference Monday afternoon.

He confirmed that the suspended employee was an employee of the Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal (SIM), but did not provide further details.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante called for an autopsy after the incident, which resulted in several terraces being closed on one of the busiest nights of the year for bars, and restaurant owners were told they were not complying with regulations.

Ferreira Café was one of the establishments affected and owner Sandra Ferreira posted a tearful message about the ordeal on Instagram after clearing her crowded patio. Her video has been viewed more than two million times.

In an interview with CTV News on Monday, she said she was told to throw customers off her patio

“I was so angry and that’s why I started crying. And I started crying in front of the gentlemen when they asked me to evacuate,” she told CTV News on Monday.

Rabouin said it was important to ensure compliance with fire safety regulations, but he was concerned about the “harsh” approach of fire officials when they visited the restaurants on Friday evening.

“As elected officials, we cannot decide the operation of the SIM, but I firmly believe there are other ways to make sure we can enforce (the rules). And coming during rush hour doesn’t seem like the best idea,” he said.

Luc Rabouin, chair of the mayor’s executive committee, speaks to reporters on Monday, June 10, 2024. (CTV News)

“It’s a shock for them, it’s a shock for us,” he added, referring to the way the situation was handled. “We think that’s unacceptable.”

There’s more to come.