Toitures Hogue faces unprecedented February snowstorms that have hundreds of building owners fearing the worst

MONTREAL, Feb. 22, 2025 /CNW/ - By the hundreds, every day, at the rate of 10 calls for help every hour, building owners are rushing to Toitures Hogue and elsewhere in the industry, fearing the worst for the safety of their roofs, which are having to bear an abnormally high load this month, due to the precipitation of the past 10 days, which left no less than 72.4 centimetres of snow in just 4 days: a first in 125 years in Montreal.

Toitures Hogue employees are working hard to address the legitimate concerns of building owners and managers (CNW Group/Toitures Hogue)

"The excessive weight of snow, particularly when it is wet or mixed with ice, can cause roof structures to sag or collapse, especially if they are old or poorly maintained," said Maxime Huot, vice-president of Toitures Hogue, who added that action is urgently needed, at the risk of rainfall that could dramatically worsen matters.

Recalling the wave of roof collapses that occurred in 2019, one of which caused the death of 2 people and left several injured, Huot said he feared that such a wave of collapses could occur in the short term, due to the overmutiplication of the natural weight of the heavy snow that has fallen in recent days and the potential risk of rain at the end of February (3 to 8 days) and the beginning of March (5 days), which could lead to icing.

"It's therefore essential to detect early the warning signs of a possible roof collapse, which can infallibly lead to major damage to an entire building," said its president, Jocelyn Hogue, who launched an unprecedented mobilization in the face of the critical snow situation, calling for the logistical intervention of 25 to 50 ton mobile cranes for the safe evacuation of roofing snow, commercial snowblowers, 60-foot articulated boom lifts, steam de-icing equipment, if required, and of course a high-capacity snow shovel, not to mention the deployment of a fleet of 12-wheel trucks for the evacuation of snow on the ground.

Mr. Hogue and Mr. Huot pointed out that for every square foot of roof, a depth of accumulated snow adds an additional 56 pounds per cubic foot of snow to the load-bearing capacity of a roof, and 65 pounds when it turns to water.

"Such situations can be catastrophic for a building owner or manager," stated Steve Grenier, Vice-President and Chief Estimator, for whom, in addition to legal issues, major economic impacts could arise from the refusal of certain insurers to pay the financial compensation provided for in insurance contracts, due to the negligence of owners and managers. 

Mr. Hogue concluded by emphasizing that insurers recommend using specialized companies with substantial and valid civil liability insurance, and ideally a license from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ). Owners need to protect themselves against the risk of damage and legitimate claims from potentially injured or negligent tenants.

SOURCE Toitures Hogue

Source: Jocelyn Hogue - President and CEO; Maxime Huot - Vice-President; Steve Grenier - Vice-President - Chief Estimator; Contacts: Alexandre Dumas, C. 514 898-4636, [email protected]