A Montreal commuter says he is terrified after the Bonaventure station was evacuated for a mysterious gas Monday afternoon and is now calling for the STM to increase communication during emergency situations.
After feeling sick, Joseph Breihan says he tried to find answers as to what the gas was but no one was able provide that information.
During the evacuation, Breihan added he had no idea what was going on. The message on the speakers wasn’t loud enough to hear, he said, and there was no one on the platform helping frenzied commuters find the exit.
“It was the most frightening thing that happened in my life I think,” Breihan told Global News.
As he and his 68-year-old mother were trying to exit the Metro, he started feeling ill.
“I was about ready to pass out. People around me were coughing, I was coughing, I was having problems breathing,” Breihan explained.
“Basically I got to the point where I wasn’t even sure I was going to make it up the stairs.”
Sick and confused, Breihan says he asked authorities about the gas but they were unable to help.
A few hours later, he still wasn’t feeling well and reached out to the STM for an explanation.
He says he was told to seek medical attention, and to contact Montreal police or the fire department for details.
“I was on a train with hundreds of commuters and tourists. So do they need to tell all those people that they need to go to the doctor too?” Breihan said.
No danger to commuters
Montreal’s fire department told Global News that the gas was pepper spray someone was using during an altercation.
It says there was never any danger to the health of commuters.
“Going through this kind of experience I have zero faith that there’s a plan to deal with this situation,” Breihan said.
“When you come into a train station and you see all the ticket booths are closed except for one and there’s no police anywhere ever, there’s rarely inspectors.”
Comments