Residents, chemists and firefighters are raising concerns about prevention and emergency preparedness after 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries inside a shipping container caught fire at the Port of Montreal on Monday.

"Around 6 p.m., I started smelling something chemical in my place," said Lia Chauvel, who lives about two kilometres from the port. "Like at 7 p.m., I get a text from the city. I thought it was spam."

The fire started at 2:40 p.m. About two hours later, the city issued a precautionary lockdown notice through landlines to some nearby residents. A reminder alert was sent at 6:51 p.m.

At 6:53 p.m., the Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough posted a warning on Facebook, and the comment section quickly filled with residents saying they were never notified or didn't see the post until much later.