MONTREAL - There are many reasons that two women died in March after a fire broke out in an apartment building in Cote des Neiges, and a coroner is trying to come up with a list of recommendations to prevent more deadly accidents.
The list of things that went wrong in the early hours of March 2, 2011 is extensive.
Firefighters determined fairly quickly that an electrical fault sparked the fire.
Then the coroner's inquest that began in September determined that despite an advanced alarm system in the three-storey building at 2500 Van Horne Ave., no alarms went off the night of the fire.
Some occupants said they heard an alarm, but said the noise stopped after a few seconds.
There were no working battery-powered smoke alarms in the 17-unit building, and firefighters inspecting the area in the weeks after the fire found 70 percent of nearby homes had no working smoke detectors.
When the fire was noticed and people called 9-1-1, dispatchers did not order the closest fire station to respond. Instead a unit from the station at Palais des Congres was sent to the scene, causing a delay estimated at two to six minutes.
By the time firefighters arrived much of the damage was done. Smoke filled stairwells and people who tried to make it through the noxious fumes could not.
Emmanuelle Leclerc, 21, died at the scene, while Selam Fantaye, 26, died in hospital soon after.
Nine others, including two children, were hospitalized because of smoke inhalation.
