A municipal fire and water services appeal arising from a hotel fire in Quebec where hydrants were snowed in, frozen, broken, or unusable, and firefighters allegedly committed operational faults while fighting the blaze.
The Court held that public law governs when private law applies to municipalities, but once a municipality moves from policy to operational implementation, liability is determined under Quebec civil law, including arts. 1053 et seq.
C.C.L.C. The city was liable for negligent maintenance of hydrants and for firefighting faults that causally contributed to additional fire damage.
The Court restored the trial judgment subject to a deduction of $77,000 for incidental reopening expenses and corrected the calculation of the additional indemnity under art. 1056c.
