A man lost his life Friday, poisoned with carbon while trying to warm up, in Saint-Joseph-du-Lac. Prime Minister François Legault also called for caution two days after the ice storm.
The 75-year-old man was found unconscious at his residence in Saint-Joseph-Du-Lac. There was “a generator that was working in the garage,” said Jean-Philippe Labbé, inspector of investigations at the Régie de police du Lac des Deux-Montagnes. Firefighters estimated that there was “twenty times more” carbon dioxide in the air than normal, he said. The man was found dead at Saint-Eustache hospital.
This is the second death linked to freezing rain. Another man died Thursday while cutting branches that had fallen on his land in Les Coteaux. He was 60 years old.
“We also say to pay attention to generators,” asked the Prime Minister, who was in Les Coteaux to meet with the authorities of the MRC Vaudreuil-Soulanges, an area west of Montreal heavily affected by the ice storm. “The generators have to be some distance from the house because it emits gas. You have to be careful with the devices that you enter or that are close to the house. »
Urgences-Santé has indeed reported more than 80 carbon monoxide poisonings in the last 48 hours.
François Legault recalled that 1.1 million residences were without electricity at the height of the ice storm. By Friday afternoon, 50% of the outages had been repaired and 80% were on track by the end of the day and 95% by Saturday evening. Electricity should be restored everywhere by Sunday or Monday.
The wind during the day, however, complicated the work of Hydro-Québec. “The winds caused additional outages. It helped in some cases to get rid of the ice, but it also caused branches to fall,” explained Mr. Legault.
Crews from across the province converged on Montreal and surrounding areas to help Hydro-Quebec linemen. However, the Prime Minister did not need to call on resources from Ontario, New Brunswick or the northeastern United States.
Mr. Legault also called on Quebecers to help each other, to welcome those who are without electricity or to offer them meals and hot drinks.
