Emergency alert system failed following fiery collision, Projet Montréal says
Official opposition says alerts were only sent out several hours after collision
Projet Montréal says the city's response following Tuesday's fiery crash on Highway 40 was too slow and that emergency protocols for immediate alerts were not followed.
According to the Montreal's official opposition party, the city's civil protection centre only sent out its first alert four hours after the rush hour collision.
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It clearly states on the City of Montreal website that local residents are supposed to be notified if an accident involved dangerous materials on Highway 40 — by telephone, text message and Twitter alerts, the opposition says.
Texts were eventually sent to cell phones of people in the area and landlines got voice messages at around 8 or 9 p.m., more than four hours after the accident happened.
Tweets were also sent out.
But Peter McQueen, a Projet Montréal city councillor, said the information should have been sent to residents sooner.
He said leaving people without instructions about whether to close their windows or flee their homes for that long was irresponsible.
"It seems to me that with an alert system like that it's better to err on the side of caution. I mean the people what to know what's going on," he said.
On Thursday, Mayor Denis Coderre praised emergency crews, and especially firefighters, for their quick response.
He didn't address Projet Montréal's criticisms directly. The westbound section of Highway 40 was reopened to traffic early Thursday.
with files from Arian Zarrinkoub