The father of a young woman who remains missing after a fire swept through an Old Montreal building on Thursday wants the city to ensure all rental units have proper fire escapes.
Charlie Lacroix, 18, lived in the Montreal suburb of Terrebonne, Que., and was staying in an Airbnb in the building with a friend after spending the day in the city.
Her father, Louis-Philippe Lacroix, said he’s been told his daughter called 911 twice within several minutes, unable to get out of the unit they were staying in, which had no window and no fire escape.
A makeshift memorial is shown at the scene following a fire in Old Montreal, Sunday, March 19, 2023, that gutted a heritage building. Several people are still unaccounted for.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Investigators and firefighters survey the scene following a fire in Old Montreal, Sunday, March 19, 2023, that gutted a heritage building. Several people are still unaccounted for.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
“How can someone rent an apartment, whether it’s for a day, or a year, or whatever with no way to exit?” he said in an interview Sunday.
Seven people are still believed to be missing after the fire, Montreal police spokesman Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant said Sunday.
Lacroix said he’s hopeful the fire will lead to action from the city to ensure Airbnbs and apartments have proper fire exits.
“This happened, there’s nothing we can do, now do everything you freaking can to avoid another story like that,” he said.
Lacroix said he has no words to describe how he’s feeling other than “sad.” He said his daughter was someone who “had everything in front of her.”
Earlier on Sunday, investigators surveyed the scene and took photos from a cherry picker crane before the rest of the building started to be dismantled.
Montreal fire operations chief Martin Guilbault said Saturday that the building will be taken apart “brick by brick” to ensure the scene is safe for investigators.
READ MORE: At least 7 people now missing after Old Montreal blaze, fire officials say
Commander Steve Belzil, the head of the police arson squad, which has taken over the investigation, said Saturday that police haven’t ruled out the possibility that more victims would be found in the ruins.
He told reporters that police don’t know how many of the missing were tourists staying in short-term rentals and how many lived in the building permanently.
Nine people were injured in the fire. As of Sunday afternoon, two remained in the serious burn unit of the Centre hospitalier de l’Universite de Montreal, both in stable condition.
Firefighters originally believed that only one person was missing, but later learned that several apartments in the building were being used as Airbnb rentals.
City officials said Airbnb-style short-term rentals are illegal in the area where the building is located.
The building’s owner, Emile-Haim Benamor, a Montreal lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
Police have said Benamor is co-operating with the investigation.
Ben Breit, the global head of trust and safety communications at Airbnb, said in a statement that the company is providing support to those affected and assisting the police investigation.
“Our hearts go out to the victims of this tragedy, and to their families and loved ones,” he said in an email.
The company did not respond to questions about whether the fire will lead to policy changes or efforts to limit use of the platform by hosts operating illegally.
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