The Canadian PressMONTREAL — A pair of lawsuits have been filed in connection with a fire in an Old Montreal heritage building that killed seven people in March, including a suit by the owner of the property who is demanding $7.6 million from the city.
The door to the building, the lawsuit alleges, did not meet fire safety regulations. But the door, which is more than 100 years old and made of wood several inches thick, had heritage value and could not be modified or replaced, the suit alleges. “Once again, it was impossible for the plaintiff to modify the staircase in such a way as to satisfy the city and the only solution presented to him was to remove the part giving access to the roof.”The suit also alleges firefighters did not deploy adequate resources to the March 16 fire and dismissed him when he told them minutes after the fire started that there were very likely people inside the building.
Meanwhile, the parents and younger brother of Charlie Lacroix, an 18-year-old victim of the fire, filed a $1.5-million lawsuit against Benamor, the City of Montreal and a man operating rentals out of the building. The lawsuit argues that the death occurred because of gross negligence on the parties all named.