Despite its priority status, a residence for seniors in Montreal was deprived of heat and light for several days.
At Manoir Outremont, electricity returned on Saturday afternoon, nearly four days after the start of the outage.
Owned by Cogir, the twelve-storey private facility has more than 300 accommodations, including a care unit for people with cognitive disorders.
“There was no heating, no generator,” laments Pascale Lacroix, whose two parents reside at Manoir Outremont.
On Wednesday, her father was stuck for at least an hour in a broken elevator, she claims.
She was able to temporarily house her father in her home, but her mother, who has Alzheimer’s, remained at the residence without heat or light the whole time.
“She hasn’t been out for three years, she doesn’t recognize us,” says Ms. Lacroix.
According to Hydro-Québec, all key locations, including seniors’ residences, have been reconnected. Hospitals and CHSLDs were also on his list of priorities.
“It can happen that we restore power, but because we are maneuvering on the network, it generates new outages,” said Régis Tellier, vice-president of operations and maintenance, during a press briefing, Sunday.
Frantz André cannot believe what he saw inside the Manoir Outremont, where his mother lives.
According to him, all residences should have a generator at their disposal in case a breakdown lasts several days. ” This is unacceptable. A company like this should have had an emergency protocol. Everyone was panicked,” he said.
“There are plenty of apartment blocks that have generators. I bought myself a generator. The need is there, that’s for sure and certain, ”said Pascale Laccroix in turn.
La Presse contacted the management of Manoir Outremont and Cogir, who had not responded at the time of publication.
Some residents have been taken in by their families until the power returns. This is particularly the case of Vivianne who brought her mother back to the residence on Sunday morning.
“I didn’t think it was safe to leave her here.” There was no light on the stairs. Imagine if there had been a fire”, denounces the one who did not wish to be identified by her full name.
Martin Côté, whose mother is also a resident, wonders about the time Hydro-Québec took to reconnect the private establishment. “For a residence of 300 apartments, I find it really surprising that the outage lasted so long,” he notes.
