Achi news desk-
Linda Simard says her husband frantically told her to call 911 when he saw two volunteer firefighters swept away by raging floodwaters in the Charlebec region of Quebec last year.
Simard was one of the first people to testify at a coroner’s inquest opened Monday into the deaths of the two men, who fell from their amphibious vehicle and into the river on their way to rescue her and her husband.
“It’s very difficult,” Simard said during her tearful testimony. “They came to save us.”
Coroner Andre Kronstrom began hearing witnesses in court in Le Malbay, Queen, during an inquest that will span several days in April and May, and will coincide with the first anniversary of the deaths of Christopher LeBoy, 23, and Regis LeBoy, 55.
Kronstrom said the goal is not to assign blame but to better understand what happened when the two men, who are not related, lost their lives on May 1, 2023.
The deaths were the subject of much talk and rumor in the small community of Saint-Urbain, northeast of Quebec City.
“We will put all this aside and listen to the witnesses who will testify under oath and we will be able to understand what really happened,” Kronstrom said. “What drives me, and what will drive everyone here, is the search for the truth.”
The firefighters were trying to rescue when the amphibious vehicle they were using began to drift in the rough water and they fell into the Gopher River on its banks. Their bodies were discovered two days later, and none of them were wearing a life jacket over their firefighting gear.
Marylou Lavoie, daughter of Régis Lavoie, described her father as a happy and generous man who worked in forestry and as a security guard at the local hospital. According to her, he volunteered as a firefighter for almost 25 years.
The amphibious vehicle the two men were in was often used by Regis LaBoy to go fishing, she said, adding that she did not know why it was used for the rescue.
She described her father as the “pillar” of the family and a man “with a big heart”.
“The only thing I want them to remember is that he was a great man. He would put everything before himself,” Marilou Lavoy said, holding back tears.
Later Monday, Simard testified that on May 1, 2023, the waters of the Gopher River began to rise rapidly and surround her home. Neither security officials nor local leaders told the couple to leave in advance, she said.
The firefighters tried to reach the couple but the road leading to the house was not accessible. In response, the local fire chief said that they would send an amphibious vehicle to fetch them.
But as the two approached the house, their vehicle was overtaken by the rushing water. Simard said her husband saw what happened and told her in a panic to call 911.
The couple were eventually rescued by a police helicopter in the early evening. But before that, Simard said she and her husband had resigned themselves to dying. “We thought we were going to die, that the house was going to be swept away.”
Kronstrom said both firefighters drowned and that Christopher LeBoy also suffered internal bleeding from head trauma.
A workplace health and safety report concluded that firefighters lacked the training and equipment needed to carry out the rescue. Among the board’s recommendations was that the Quebec Fire Academy require recruits to undergo water rescue training.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 15, 2024.
