Today - Sunday Jan 19 - marks the 24th anniversary of a tragic fire that saw four teenage girls burn to death the Shawbridge Youth Detention Facility at 3000 Levesque W. Chomedey Laval.
Michelle Thibeault, 14, Tifani Mackenzie, 15, and Christina Cain, 13, died in the fire at the high-security home while Tina Poux, 14, died later in a hospital.
Add 24 to those ages and that's how old they'd have been now - 37, 38, 36, 38.
I could only find a photo of one of the victims, Christina Cain, who was locked inside only because she had trouble in school and refused to attend classes. (Pls send along others if you have).
The practice of locking away misfits with hardened teen criminals was apparently stopped after this incident.
Now, for the first time, is a bit of insight into what happened in that killer incident at the institution for English-speaking girls.
The 10 girls in the unit had a plot to escape the institute although the exact degree of complicity of each of them remain undetermined.
They knew that the prison doors would unlock three minutes after the smoke was detected. Additionally a guard had access to a panic button to open all of the doors.
It would have been about -11C outside at the time, so the frigid temperatures that they were willing to bear is itself a testament to their determination to get out.
The girls set off a couple of practice fires in the weeks that preceded the killer blaze, which was set at about 1 a.m.
The fire spread quickly because - unlike other detention facilities which have walls of concrete - the home was highly flammable and created toxic plumes of smoke. An expert later said that the girls likely died before the three minutes.
The part-time guard on duty, Robert Potrasal did his best to free the girls, by banging down three doors with his shoulder but was unable to get to the other four doors.
He was likely insufficiently trained for such emergencies and said he thought busting down the doors would be faster than using a key as he later bravely recounted to reporters, in spite of being instructed no to talk to media. He was apparently not aware of the panic button that would have released all locks.
In spite of the possible complicity of all of the 10 girls, three were considered to be the main movers and shakers behind the plot. I have the names but cannot reveal them.
Two were later sentenced to more time in incarceration but that doesn't mean much, as they were already locked up and due to be released as adults anyway.
One survivor holds a bitter grudge against the ringleader to this day.
"I wanted to kill her personally and she was severely beaten numerous times. Vengeance had its due. And I'm sure the guilt and the fear of hell still keeps her up at nights, as I hope it will continue to do until she dies."
Here's another account:
"I unfortunately can give all the details. It was 1990, just after the Berlin wall was taken down. I had just had my daughter. And sadly it was one of X's and my brainy ideas to start a fire in the basement in the laundry room to release the doors.
X and I had questioned Brian (prison guard) a thousand times about how quickly the doors would release. We were there when they were installed. He swore that they would release within three minutes. We all thought that if we started the fire in the basement that the doors would release when the alarm went off but before the fire could reach the main floor.
Brian was wrong and our idea didn't work. I feel much guilt about this and I won't mention who it was who did it, those of you who know who she is, know.
But regretfully, on my last two week backup before I got released, I told her about X and I trying to start the fire with a curling iron in the basement and trying to sneak in a lighter and all the details of what I had learned while the system was installed.
Months later she did it and we lost girls. RIP to all that we lost up there, Donna (another teen inmate who later died of an overdose) included even though it was not in the fire."
Michelle Thibeault, 14, Tifani Mackenzie, 15, and Christina Cain, 13, died in the fire at the high-security home while Tina Poux, 14, died later in a hospital.
Add 24 to those ages and that's how old they'd have been now - 37, 38, 36, 38.
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| Tina Cain |
The practice of locking away misfits with hardened teen criminals was apparently stopped after this incident.
Now, for the first time, is a bit of insight into what happened in that killer incident at the institution for English-speaking girls.
The 10 girls in the unit had a plot to escape the institute although the exact degree of complicity of each of them remain undetermined.
They knew that the prison doors would unlock three minutes after the smoke was detected. Additionally a guard had access to a panic button to open all of the doors.
It would have been about -11C outside at the time, so the frigid temperatures that they were willing to bear is itself a testament to their determination to get out.
The girls set off a couple of practice fires in the weeks that preceded the killer blaze, which was set at about 1 a.m.
The fire spread quickly because - unlike other detention facilities which have walls of concrete - the home was highly flammable and created toxic plumes of smoke. An expert later said that the girls likely died before the three minutes.
The part-time guard on duty, Robert Potrasal did his best to free the girls, by banging down three doors with his shoulder but was unable to get to the other four doors.
He was likely insufficiently trained for such emergencies and said he thought busting down the doors would be faster than using a key as he later bravely recounted to reporters, in spite of being instructed no to talk to media. He was apparently not aware of the panic button that would have released all locks.
In spite of the possible complicity of all of the 10 girls, three were considered to be the main movers and shakers behind the plot. I have the names but cannot reveal them.
Two were later sentenced to more time in incarceration but that doesn't mean much, as they were already locked up and due to be released as adults anyway.
One survivor holds a bitter grudge against the ringleader to this day.
"I wanted to kill her personally and she was severely beaten numerous times. Vengeance had its due. And I'm sure the guilt and the fear of hell still keeps her up at nights, as I hope it will continue to do until she dies."
Here's another account:
"I unfortunately can give all the details. It was 1990, just after the Berlin wall was taken down. I had just had my daughter. And sadly it was one of X's and my brainy ideas to start a fire in the basement in the laundry room to release the doors.
X and I had questioned Brian (prison guard) a thousand times about how quickly the doors would release. We were there when they were installed. He swore that they would release within three minutes. We all thought that if we started the fire in the basement that the doors would release when the alarm went off but before the fire could reach the main floor.
Brian was wrong and our idea didn't work. I feel much guilt about this and I won't mention who it was who did it, those of you who know who she is, know.
But regretfully, on my last two week backup before I got released, I told her about X and I trying to start the fire with a curling iron in the basement and trying to sneak in a lighter and all the details of what I had learned while the system was installed.
Months later she did it and we lost girls. RIP to all that we lost up there, Donna (another teen inmate who later died of an overdose) included even though it was not in the fire."