Montreal fire department facing equipment shortages

Montreal’s fire department is facing serious equipment issues, according to the city’s auditor general.

The report, released on Tuesday, reveals problems with poor inventory tracking, non-compliant equipment and a lack of gear, putting firefighters’ health and safety at risk.

“This is 2025, we are a large metropolitan fire department, there’s absolutely no reason why we don’t have an inventory of all of our gear,” said Chris Ross, president of the Montreal Firefighters’ Association (APM).

Ross has been advocating for changes in the city’s fire department for the past 10 years.

“We have fire trucks that are out of service because we cannot adequately equip our firefighters with gear. We have fire trucks going to calls that are short-staffed,” Ross said. “And it’s not because we’re missing firefighters, [but because] we’re missing the equipment to safely send them to fires.”

It is protocol for firefighters to have their equipment washed and inspected after entering burning buildings. Ross says it is to ensure that firefighters are not exposed to contamination, which can be harmful to their health.

Richard Liebmann, chief of Montreal’s fire department, acknowledged the problem, even before the report was released.

“Many of those improvements were already in the process of being implemented,” said Liebmann.

He explained that the department is working on upgrading its tracking system and improving the capacity for washing uniforms. He says the city also invested nearly $6.3 million this year to purchase over 1,300, close to 1,500 new sets of bunker gear, as well as helmets, gloves, and boots.

However, for Ross, the issue comes down to accountability.

“I think as a taxpayer, they should be concerned that in 2025, you’re spending millions of dollars on equipment, and you have no idea where it is,” he said.