It was one of the deadliest rail accidents in Canada’s history, and the images from that fateful day still haunt those who were close enough to see them.
For fire chief Daniel Parron, it was the moment he realized how starkly unprepared Quebec’s first responders are.
“It was a war scene, like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Parron said. “[education] is a must, and something we cannot do without anymore.”
Parron explains there’s no training available for fire brigades dealing with train accidents—often, crews are forced to use safety manuals provided by the train company.
In light of these lessons learning following the chaos of Lac Megantic, Canada’s rail safety laws will come under review one year earlier than previously expected.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau says that he plans to change the standards and programs used by emergency responders. Garneau explained that nation-wide training for first responders is a priority.
“I’ve met many municipalities where the fire brigade are volunteers, they have other jobs: they don’t have a lot of resources,” said Garneau. “If something were to happen in their smaller and sometimes remote communities, what are they going to do?”
Also up for examination during the review are steps to make level train crossings safer. There are nearly 23 thousand of them in Canada, and many of them bisect major cities with heavy pedestrian traffic.
However, trying to strike a balance between public safety and history is not as simple as it seems.
“The reality of today’s life is that the railway was there, and the municipalities built up around them,” said Garneau,
“We need to recognize the railways have an important function and they’re as secure as possible.”
