Spectacular accident in Cote Saint-Luc

      

Cote Saint-Luc Road and Borden was the scene of a spectacular accident over the weekend. A car hit a lamp post and rolled onto its roof.

As chance would have it, our volunteer Citizens on Patrol was doing an early morning shift and witnessed the crash.  They immediately secured the scene from oncoming motorists and radioed for assistance.  Within one minute the EMS and Police services were also on scene.

CSL EMS, CSL Public Security, CSL vCOP along with Police and Fire Departments and Urgences-santé all responded quickly. Thankfully the 30-something year old driver walked away uninjured. Good work and thanks to our dedicated emergency volunteer and professional responders.

English translations progressing on FD website

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Fire department website promotes changing batteries – in French only

After much cajoling by myself, Councillor Dida Burku, Mayor Anthony Housefather and the CSL City Council, the Montreal Fire Department has finally translated a significant portion of its website from French only. This is a positive step.   I, and many other English-speaking residents, appreciate this attention which was long overdue.

However, the FD must be reminded to keep it up to date to inform residents of safety messages and to educate the public in all aspects of fire safety regulations and home safety procedures.

Unfortunately they seem to have neglected to translate information about checking smoke detector batteries on their English homepage.

Last week, they ran a sensitization campaign to verify smoke detectors during the Spring Forward changing of the clocks.  On the French homepage the top article reads: On change l’heure, on vérifie son avertisseur!.  However, if you click on ENGLISH (from the French homepage or from the French article cited above) there is no such article in English.

It seems that the Montreal FD targeted only one language group and ignored the other.  Obviously this is unacceptable.

Thank you Montreal FD for translating the site to be significantly bilingual.  But please make a greater effort to ensure that it is kept up to date.  This is a matter of safety and security for all Montreal Island residents regardless of language.

CSL’s EMS finishes another great year

Free Press, February 28, 2012

Henry Aubin: Loud silence on merger milestone

Another brilliant column by the Gazette’s Henry Aubin (link below) who has been on the case of municipal mergers and other government blunders affecting our cities.  Aubin wrote about the mergers well before they took place 10 years ago and predicted what a colossal mistake this would be.  He cited examples from across North America and Europe.

This week marks 10 years since this ill-advised event took effect.  Since then we have seen Montreal costs run amuck and the sucking of local/suburban city taxes to feed the insatiable centre city.

We lost our local Fire Department that served our community well in two languages, conducted hundreds of inspections every year, attended every local event and cooperated with our Public Security department and EMS.

With mergers we have experienced a Montreal Fire department with years of labour strife and disinterest in communicating in English on their website despite numerous requests from our Council, unwillingness to cooperate with our Public Security, refusing to advise them of fire calls in CSL, preventing our city from providing maximum services to our residents not to mention a firefighter union that worked hard yet failed to terminate CSL’s all-star volunteer EMS.

We have had almost no fire inspections at all despite pleas by our Council to improve on this dismal and dangerous record.

These are just a few examples of our city’s experience with a single service since merger.  There are so many more examples as oft cited at our Council meetings.

While we are lucky to have broken free from much of the merger disadvantages several continue to haunt us as revealed by Henry Aubin in this Gazette column:  Henry Aubin: Loud silence on merger milestone.

Yangtze Restaurant burns away

Sad news as an icon of restaurants for Cote Saint-Lucers since the 1960s goes up in flames.  The Yangtze was prominently featured in this Gazette article just a few weeks ago as well as in a recent National Post article.

Read more here from Mike Cohen’s blog: The Suburban.com – The Suburban – Mike Cohen: Yangtze Restaurant burns away.

 

The Suburban, Dec. 8, 2011

Montreal to regulate traffic-calming measures

Montreal to regulate traffic-calming measures. (Montreal Gazette, Oct. 21, 2011)

These measures by the City of Montreal will have no effect on the demerged municipalities, despite the confusing reference at the end of this article (link above).

While Cote Saint-Luc was reluctant for most of the last 25 years to implement speed bumps and humps only in the last few years have we begun to allow a few exceptions based upon traffic pattern analysis by city engineers.

Your Home Evacuation Plan – Fire Prevention - Ministère de la Sécurité publique

 

 

 

 

 

The Montreal Fire Department’s French only website is promoting “la grande evacuation” taking place on October 12, 2011.  The Quebec Minister of Public Safety only has this information in French as well.

I was able to find this information in English, although it does not pertain to the events happening on October 12: Your Home Evacuation Plan – Fire Prevention - Ministère de la Sécurité publique.

What a shame that these major government departments, and the Quebec Government in general, still cannot understand the importance of communicating with Quebec’s English-speaking population (who pay the same taxes as all Quebecers but obviously receive less service).

 

Fire prevention month – “Safety in the forefront” only in French

Months of the Montreal Fire – Fire safety in the forefront

The following press release was issued by the Montreal Fire Department.  Despite repeated requests by the City of Cote Saint-Luc, Mayor Anthony Housefather and myself, the MFD, an Agglomeration of Montreal service, continues to publicize its safety events, promotions and website in French only.  What follows is a translation using Google Translate:

MONTREAL, Sept. 19, 2011 – The Fire Department of Montreal (SIM) offers the population of Greater Montreal, as part of the second edition of the Month Fire Prevention, a series of thematic activities. The event runs from September 19 to October 16, 2011. Although the evacuation plan is the theme this year, the importance of having a functional smoke alarm in the home remains at the heart of the actions taken.

Messrs. Claude Trudel, head of public security to the executive committee of the City of Montreal, Serge Tremblay, director of the Fire Department of Montreal, consider important that the initiative is repeated annually.

“The municipal administration strongly supports the initiative of the SIM. The success of last year shows that the population is becoming more receptive to messages of fire prevention. We must therefore continue all efforts so that citizens of the metropolis incorporate into their daily preventive behaviors suggested. So is safety. In this sense, I invite them to participate in large numbers to Month Fire of Montreal “, said Mr. Trudel.

Month Fire of Montreal is an event that has no equal. Last year, nearly 83,000 elementary students have undertaken to check the smoke alarm in their homes as part of their participation in the activity “Firefighter for a Day”, almost 12 000 people been encountered at public events, more than 3000 dwellings were visited 230 primary schools were inspected and about 1 400 children were sensitized through appropriate activities. This year the contest “Draw your plan! “And the series of activities offered, the service is optimistic it will exceed the number of children and families joined them.

Throughout the Prevention Month, the SIM will deploy resources in public places to raise awareness and to provide fire safety tips, visit the private primary schools and all secondary schools of the island, meet with groups of seniors, will experience the fire simulator to small pre-school, will hold open houses in some barracks and visit homes to ensure they are equipped with a smoke alarm functional. In all these activities, followed by several activities jointly.

“For the second consecutive year, the MIS staff has invested to provide an imaginative programming and a high quality of Montrealers. We have honed our communication strategies so that our message is heard by as many citizens as possible. Since the fire first starts at home, I encourage people to learn about fire prevention to our prevention officers and firefighters as well as through our website. By visiting it, they can view videos themes, various documents and consult the complete program of the event, “said Director Smith.

To be aware of the program, visit ville.montreal.qc.ca / sim.

CSL launches Emergency Response Team

In March 2011, the City Council adopted a new Emergency Preparedness Plan. This was the culmination of two years of work, in great part by Jordy Reichson, Director of Public Safety, Councillor Ruth Kovac, and myself, as chairman of the City’s Public Safety, Transportation and Emergency Preparedness committees.  Councillor Kovac and I have been involved with emergency services for more than 30 years and we have overseen Emergency Preparedness since 1990.

In the management of an emergency, there are two important and interrelated decision centres: the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and the emergency site. While the EOC is likely only activated in the case of a large emergency, the site team will be activated more often, for a range of incidents including working fires, mass casualty incidents or other confined incidents.

In order to manage the emergency site in the most efficient manner, I announced my intention during the last elections to create an Emergency Response Team (ERT) within the Public Safety Department. The team is made up of volunteers within EMS, vCOP and Public Security agents.  When the alarm goes off, the team springs into action.

The ERT will be led by David Sasson. David is a veteran of the Emergency Measures Organization (EMO, the predecessor of EMS), recently completed a 23-year career at Urgences-santé and is an active EMS driver-medic. David has been the head of the medical team at the Jewish General Hospital’s Weekend to End Breast Cancer and Ride to Conquer Cancer since each event’s inception. David will report directly to and work closely with the Director of Public Safety, as the ERT is an element of emergency preparedness and touches all Public Safety divisions.

The members of the ERT will be trained in the Incident Command System (ICS), setting up a command post and interacting with other services on scene. The ERT members will wear a special identification to easily identify them on scene, worn over top of their regular uniforms.

ERT members will also serve as ambassadors of the City and assist affected residents in coping with the situation, help them make arrangements, advocate for residents with other services and respond to any pressing concerns.

Once activated and on scene, the ERT will usually assume command of the on-scene City resources, liaising with the Montreal Fire Department, Montreal Police Department and Urgences-santé incident commanders.

All members are volunteers and receive no compensation for this service.

The second phase will be the creation of a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), involving citizens from the community with special skills or equipment. The CERT is a program that exists in different parts of Canada and the US and develops a sense of responsibility amongst regular citizens. The formation of the CERT is planned for 2012-2013. The ERT will serve as the managing body for the CERT.

The goal of the ERT is to allow the City to best respond to emergencies large and small and offer the highest level of service to residents and responders. In creating the ERT, we are ensuring that we have trained, knowledgeable and capable responders and leaders at the site of the emergency.

Although only officially approved by the City Council this month, the ERT has been activated twice in the last few months — at a house fire on Parkhaven and during the windstorms two weeks ago. The ERT augmented our services and allowed us to better deal with each situation.

I am thrilled to see this service launched.  The CERT formed an important part of my 2009 election plan as I am always looking how to improve our existing level of safety and security and to build upon what we have with innovative and unique ideas.  I am very confident in our abilities to respond to just about any kind of call for help within our community, and outside as well.

More information will be forthcoming about these services and next year we will call for participation from some of our skilled and equipped residents.

Related articles

• CSL adopts emergency preparedness plan (gjnashen.wordpress.com)

Also see:

CSL emergency response team, Around the Towns, The Suburban, July 6, 2011
Côte St. Luc announced that it has launched its Emergency Response Team, or ERT, “to help respond to reports of fire, mass casualty incidents, or other confined incidents,” says a city announcement. “The ERT will include first responders from Côte St. Luc Emergency Medical Services, public security agents, and volunteer patrollers from the city’s vCOP program. The ERT members will wear a special identification to easily identify them on scene, worn over top of their regular uniform. The ERT will be led by David Sasson, a veteran of the Emergency Measures Organization, or EMO, which was the predecessor of EMS.”

“When responding to an incident, ERT members will assist affected residents in coping with the situation, helping them make arrangements, advocating on their behalf with other services and responding to any pressing concerns,” said Councillor Glenn Nashen, the council member responsible for public safety and traffic issues. “Once activated and on scene, the ERT will usually assume command of the on-scene city resources, liaising with the fire department, police department and Urgences Santé incident commanders.”

Use of barbecues in Côte Saint-Luc

I continue to receive phone calls regarding regulations for barbecues on balconies. While I have always been against BBQing on apartment and condominium balconies for fear of the spread of fire, the risk of charcoal being blown off a balcony risking those below, the danger of transporting gas cylinders in a building and the nuisance of smoke to one’s neighbours, the City of Cote Saint-Luc does allow BBQs on balconies under certain conditions.  Here is an update of the bylaw that has been posted on the CSL website:

Use of barbecues in Côte Saint-Luc

In order to protect the safety of residents, the City of Côte Saint-Luc has placed limits on the use of open-flame barbecues, such as propane barbecues, charcoal barbecues, etc.

The following will help you determine if you can use an open-flame barbecue at your residence.

1. Apartment and condominium rules

Before even reviewing the city rules about the use of open-flame barbecues, you should first learn if your condominium association or landlord allows the use of barbecues on balconies or ground floor area. If it is prohibited by the association or owner, then you cannot use an open-flame barbecue, irrespective of the by-laws of Côte Saint-Luc.

2. Type of balcony

Assuming that there are no prohibitions by your condominium association or apartment building owner, then you should familiarize yourself with Côte Saint-Luc by-laws. By-law 852 amending By-law 626 concerning fire prevention states that the use of a portable open-flame device, such as a barbecue apparatus—which includes a hibachi-type table-top grill fired by charcoal—must be used on a balcony that has a support, floor, wall or any part thereof that is fully fireproof. In general, this means that the balcony must be made of concrete as opposed to wood. However, the only way to determine whether your balcony is fully fireproof is to ask the Montreal fire department to inspect it. You can contact the fire department at 514-280-0868.

3. Distance between gas cylinder and building opening

Assuming that the fire department says that your balcony is fully fireproof, you must also have a balcony large enough to satisfy the rules governing the storage of gas cylinders, such as propane tanks.

The distance between the building opening and the cylinder containing gas is governed by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), which enacted the Natural Gas and Propane Installation Code and the Propane Storage and Handling Code. These distances, which are incorporated by reference in Côte Saint-Luc By-law 2279, vary and are based upon various factors. These distances only apply to barbecues fuelled by gas.

For example, the Propane Storage and Handling Code states: a cylinder shall be installed outside a building, with the discharge from the cylinder relief valve not less than:

a) 3 feet (1 metre) on a horizontal plane from any building opening when the opening is below the level of the relief valve discharge;

b) 10 feet (3 metres) on a horizontal plane from the air intake of any appliance or air-moving equipment; and

c) 10 feet (3 metre) on a horizontal plane from any source of ignition.

Note: Although these codes regulate gas barbecues and not barbecues fueled by charcoal, Montreal fire inspector Jean-François Duclos recommends that residents read carefully and rigorously apply the recommended distances listed in their charcoal barbecue user manual.

4. Smoke

Assuming that your building allows barbecues, that you have a fully fireproof balcony, and one that is large enough to permit the distances required between the gas cylinder and the building opening, then you can to use your open-flame barbecue—assuming you are not causing a nuisance to your neighbour.

By-law 107 concerning nuisance (i.e., smoke) applies to all barbecues. Just like loud music, smoke from a barbecue could be a nuisance to your neighbours.

In summary, in order to barbecue on a balcony in Cote Saint-Luc, you MUST:

• Ensure your building allows barbecues
• Have a fully FIREPROOF balcony (meaning a balcony made of cement)
• NEVER transport a gas cylinder in an elevator with anyone inside other than yourself
• Maintain a distance of at least 3 feet from the barbecue’s gas cylinder to the balcony door (although the further the safer)
• Ensure that you do not create a nuisance, such as smoke

Failure to comply with these bylaws and national codes can lead to an infraction by Cote Saint-Luc Public Security, Urban Planning or the Montreal Fire Department.  For any further information contact the Montreal Fire Department.

Annual Côte Saint-Luc Spring Fair on Sunday POSTPONED

Please note that this event has been postponed due to weather – Check back here or www.cotesaintluc.org for the new date

The fourth annual Côte Saint-Luc Spring Fair will take place on Sunday, May 15, 2011 from 10 am to 3 pm between Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park and the Public Works Building on Mackle Rd.

“Our Spring Fair is a kid-friendly event with many games and activities, plus a community garage sale to keep the adults busy too,” Mayor Anthony Housefather said. “But there is also an education aspect to the Spring Fair, with information about environmental matters, safety issues, and public works initiatives.”

The Côte Saint-Luc Spring Fair includes the Mega Garage Sale, Public Safety Day, the Public Works Carnival, Eco-Action Day, and—new this year—Côte Saint-Luc Clean Up Day, where residents can pitch in to help pick up refuse at one of four green spaces.

Highlights of the Côte Saint-Luc Spring Fair include inflatable games, face painting, arts and crafts, bike rodeo, colouring stations, environmental trivia game, child-seat verification, compost distribution, and the 60-table garage sale.

For more information about all the activities, visit www.CoteSaintLuc.org/en/SpringFair2011.

Fire chief responds to hot issues

Councillors Dida Berku and Glenn J. Nashen with Fire Department Director Serge Tremblay

In my capacity of City Councillor responsible for Public Safety I recently had the opportunity to welcome Montreal Fire Department Director Serge Tremblay to City Hall.

Joining me in this informative and productive meeting were Councillors Ruth Kovac, Dida Berku, Public Safety Director Jordy Reichson and City Manager Tanya Abramovitch.

Foremost on my mind was to dramatically improve fire inspections in our city.  In pre-merger Cote Saint-Luc there were 1800 inspections each year.  CSL firefighters were involved in carrying out inspections nearly every day of the year in homes and highrises, commercial centres, religious establishments and schools.  No facility was left uninspected and high traffic places of gathering were verified as frequently as every single week!

The 2002 merger dismantled the CSL FD into the new, enlarged Montreal FD, with their island-wide, powerful union.  Inspections in our City fell to practically nil (around 80 post inspections to be fair). Unfortunately, the demerger law did not permit reconstituted city’s to regain their fire departments.

Nearly 10 years later the situation with inspections is still rather dismal.  The fact that firefighters have been without a contract and on a limited work-to-rule campaign for half of the last decade has not helped in stabilizing this awful record.  This meeting provided us with the opportunity to voice our great dissatisfaction.  Our dialogue was received loud and clear and we are hopeful that Director Tremblay will make the long-overdue changes to increase inspections dramatically.

I also addressed the fact that  the amalgamated Montreal Fire Department has had 10 years to create their new website yet there is still not a word in English to be found there – it  is totally in French only.  I told the director that this is simply unacceptable to us as an officially bilingual city and to the thousands of Montrealers who are English-speaking.  As well, there is a great need for bilingual educational and promotional material.  We will monitor this situation for signs of progress as well.

CSL adopts emergency preparedness plan

CSL adopts emergency preparedness plan
By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban
April 13, 2011

Côte St. Luc recently adopted the latest version of its emergency preparedness plan, a 99-page list of what measures the city would take in case of disaster.

Councillor Glenn Nashen, in charge of the public safety dossier on council, told the March council meeting that the latest plan was two years in the making and done “under the guidance of Côte St. Luc’s emergency preparedness committee.

“We’ve had a lot of input from a wide range of staff, volunteers and expert resources in emergency planning outside of the city, in order to update what is the fourth generation plan that councillor Ruth Kovac and I have worked on since 1990, to match the resources and capacity of the city to respond to any type of large-scale emergency beyond normal operational emergencies in the city, such as the ice storm of 1998,” Nashen explained.

“It’s at a state now where, we believe, that we can muster our resources, bring together the staff, volunteers, elected officials and others that are involved in large scale emergency planning, and the execution of the plan, in order to mitigate any risk and render normal circumstances to the city after an emergency as quickly as possible. I think we have a very good plan in place now.”

Nashen said the plan would be tested; first virtually and then live with a mock situation in such locales as the railyards or somewhere within the city in coordination with the police and fire departments.

“We will then communicate with residents what the plan is about, what role they play in emergencies, because each of the residents play a very active role in mitigating their own risk and preparing themselves,” the councillor added. “That is the continuation of the plan for the rest of 2011, in terms of preparing our residents and staff.”

Asked by Mayor Anthony Housefather to explain what residents should do to prepare for an emergency, Nashen said he would extend “the same message that has been churned out from the federal government for a number of years — plan for 72 hours.

“In the case of a large scale emergency, citizens across the country should be prepared within their own homes with rations of food, means to keep themselves hydrated, fed, warmed or cooled for 72 hours,” Nashen said. “What we did learn in the last large scale emergency is that sometimes the emergency overtakes the capacity of local provincial, regional and federal governments to respond to everybody equally and fast.”

via CSL adopts emergency preparedness plan (The Suburban)

Related Articles

• CSL Emergency Preparedness – Always Planning (gjnashen.wordpress.com)

Fire at Côte St. Luc apartment building

Fire at Côte St. Luc apartment building. (Montreal Gazette)