The state of the accommodation of a fire victim last September in Trois-Rivières could have played an important role in the tragedy.
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This is what the Coroner concludes which looked at the death of a tenant of the Housing of Old-Moulin in the Cap-de-la-Madeleine sector.
The elderly lady died on her 8th floor balcony as she was trying to flee the fire declared in her apartment very crowded by the accumulation of objects.
The Coroner therefore formulates recommendations to the City Housing Office in Trois-Rivières to which the nine-story building belongs.
On September 17, Louise Gaudette died of fatal burns on the balcony of her 8th floor apartment. The 61 -year -old victim was trying to escape the flames that had declared himself in his accommodation. Neighbors had also witnessed the terrible scene. The woman who called with her balcony, before disappearing in an explosion from her apartment.
In the Coroner report, we can read that the lady was followed by the CLSC for problems of size, that is to say that she accumulated objects in her 3 and a half …
But between May 27, 2024 and the fire, so for 4 months, she had no follow -up due to personnel changes among stakeholders.
So the fire day, access to the interior of the apartment was complicated by the presence of a grocery basket, a piece of furniture just behind the door and a mattress was paid in the passage of the entrance.
The Coroner therefore concludes that: “Although the source of the fire, | Possibly an article of smoker |, and the state of Ms. Gaudette at the time when he started could not be determined with certainty at the end of this investigation, it seems to me that the important state of size of the accommodation has probably played a considerable role in this death. This will have contributed to the importance and speed of the propagation of the flames and may have made it impossible for Ms. Gaudette to reach the front door of the accommodation. ”
Coroner Me Mélanie Ricard also underlines that the problem of congestion was known for a long time by OMHTR officials.
The Coroner therefore goes there by two recommendations: that the organization has a person responsible for the follow -ups in terms of congestion which can represent a risk of fire in order to avoid ruptures of services and that the OMHTR ensures regular follow -up visits.
Recommendations welcomed favorably while the acting managing director of OMHTR, Christian Ethier, says: “We always do the follow -up regularly. We intervene. ” But he adds that “people who live in OMH are in their living environment so people can refuse or accept”.
The daughter of Ms. Gaudette did not wish to comment on the submission of the report. She was already well aware of the circumstances surrounding the death of her mother.
