The family of a firefighter who died while trying to rescue two boaters on the St. Lawrence River is calling for better training and equipment for water rescues on the fifth anniversary of his death. A Quebec coroner called Pierre Lacroix’s death “an avoidable tragedy.” Now, his daughter, Stephanie Lacroix, who was rescuing two boaters stranded on the river, said she lives in fear that another family could suffer the same terrible loss. “For just pure respect, out of their courage, they should be able to have all of the tools, all of the training, all of the equipment that they need, so that they are able to rescue people, but also to come back to their loved ones and their families,” she said. She said five years after his death, her grief is just as painful. “I’m going through all of these life transitions, all of these firsts, like, I’m turning 30 next month. Eventually, I’m gonna have my own family. I graduated a few years ago, and all of these things and he wasn’t there, and I think there shouldn’t be another family or other children like my sister and I who should go through this.” After Pierre Lacroix’s death, the coroner’s report made a series of recommendations, including better training and equipment for swift water rescues. The fire department says it has implemented 80 per cent of the recommendations, but the firefighters’ association says one key change still has not been made. “We still have boats that are very good, but they’re just not made to go in this area,” said Marc-Andre Gosselin, of the Firefighters’ Association. On the night of Lacroix’s death, he and his crew were in a boat called The Hammerhead. During the operation, the boat was dragged into the Lachine Rapids, known as an exclusion zone, where rescue firefighters are not supposed to go. In the coroner’s report, it said it is not realistic to expect a firefighter to abandon a rescue as it approaches an exclusion zone “You ask them to draw an imaginary line where they cannot go, and that’s where problems are going to occur,” said Gosselin. The fire department did not answer specific questions about upgrading its boats but said it plans to implement the remaining corner recommendations in 2027. Lacroix says she now dreads the summer months. “My dad was an incredible firefighter,” she said. “However, he was my dad before anything else, and I’m going to have to live more years of my life without my dad than with him.
