‘Paid the ultimate price’: Body of drowned firefighter found after rescue gone wrong
Posted October 18, 2021 9:17 am.
Last Updated October 18, 2021 8:27 pm.
The body of a Montreal firefighter was recovered Monday morning from the Lachine rapids in LaSalle after he went missing in a rescue mission on Sunday night.
Pierre Lacroix, from Caserne 64 in Lachine, fell into the St. Lawrence River during an effort to save two people on a small boat that was in distress. He was 58.
Lacroix leaves behind a wife and two children. The firefighters’ union asked that the family’s privacy be respected.
“Firefighter Lacroix was doing what he was trained to do: trying to rescue two people that were in imminent danger in the rapids, and unfortunately paid the ultimate price,” said Richard Liebmann, director of the Montreal fire department.
“We try and prepare for the worst, but you’re never prepared for something like this. So all we can is be there for each other.”
Lacroix had 30 years experience in the fire department. He was one of four firefighters dispatched at about 7:10 p.m. Sunday, Quebec provincial police said.
While the two boaters were able to get to safety, the rescue boat capsized for unknown reasons.
Three of the firefighters were rescued and taken to hospital, as were the two boaters, but the fourth firefighter could not be found.
“Our rescue boat made contact with that boat and unfortunately capsized in the Lachine rapids,” said Liebmann. “All four firefighters went into the water and unfortunately firefighter Lacroix did not come back up.”
The body of a Montreal firefighter has been recovered from the Lachine Rapids in LaSalle. (Martin Daigle, CityNews)
Liebmann says the body, which was located using an underwater camera, was stuck in the capsized boat in a dangerous portion of the Lachine rapids, making it challenging for rescuers.
Lacroix was taken to hospital where his death was confirmed just before 9:30 a.m.
An investigation is underway.
“It all happened very quickly,” said Liebmann. “They were already on top of the toughest part of the rapids and it’s just an inherently dangerous place to be, at any time but especially at night.”
Neighbouring fire departments joined in the search, along with the Montreal police department’s nautical unit, the Canadian Armed Forces and a helicopter.
The flag outside Caserne 64 was at half mast Monday.
“Firefighting is really a team activity,” said Chris Ross, president of the Montreal Firefighters Association. “It’s about family. That family goes much beyond the fire station. And it really goes home to our wives, it goes home to our children.”
The flag outside Montreal City Hall will also be at half mast.
“Le pompier Lacroix died doing what he was trained, what he truly believed what was the right thing to do, which is saving other people’s lives,” said Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante. “Even if it means losing his own. So I think it’s important to keep in mind how much courage it takes to do so.”
The tragedy hit home for some residents living right by the river in Lachine.
“My brother is a firefighter, he was a lieutenant,” said Michael Kostiuk, a Lasalle resident. “He’s retired a year I guess now. He works with these people. He knows the fireman.
“But it’s a different group. It’s like a close-knit family. It’s sort of like I know some of these firefighters too, so it sort of hits me a bit too.”
