The city of Montreal is being fined by the workers' Health and Safety Board over an accident that killed a firefighter last summer.
Thierry Godfrind, 39, died while responding to a house fire in Saint-Laurent on July 13, 2012, when he stepped behind a firetruck that was backing up.
Godfrind was not facing the vehicle, and the truck driver had no idea he was behind the truck. As a result, the truck drove over the man, pinneing his underneath the rear wheels. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
"It was impossible for us to determine, why, for what reasons, the person did not hear the alarm. Or hid he hear the alarm? Did he hesitate? We were not able to determine that," said James Ross of the Montreal fire department.
The CSST wants the fire department to rewrite safety procedures for when people are on foot around trucks, pointing out that an average of six people per year die after being hit by a heavy truck.
"This lack of work organization exposed the worker to being struck by a fire truck," said CSST spokesperson Dominique David.
The specific amount the city will be fined was not disclosed, because the matter is currently in court, but it could range anywhere from $15,420 to $154,200.
A coroner's report issued in November 2012 determined that if the truck had a rear-view camera, the driver would likely have seen Godfrind and stopped before rolling over him.
The Montreal fire department said it is analyzing the report and said the measure could be feasible, likely costing less than $4,000 per truck.
"We asked the employer to create an action plan to identify, control and eliminate the danger while the vehicle is backing up," said CSST inspector Isabelle Lalonde.
Firetrucks cost anywhere from $400,000 to $1 million depending on their special functions.
Godfrind had wanted to be a firefighter for decades, first taking firefighter courses in the early 1990s.
He was the first Montreal firefighter to die on the job since 2006.
