A gas leak and an electrical outage paralyzed downtown Rouyn-Noranda on Wednesday morning.
Several people had to be evacuated in the area of Rue Principale and Avenue du Portage after a gas main broke around 9:25 a.m. Citizens were gathered in the warmth of the municipal library.
An Énergir team quickly located and sealed the leak with the help of firefighters from the City of Rouyn-Noranda fire safety service. The re-entry of buildings in the sector has been permitted since 10:30 a.m., with certain precautions.
At each building that is allowed to re-enter, firefighters take readings to see if there are gases inside the building to ensure that everything is safe.
specifies Stéphane Royer, director of the Rouyn-Noranda Fire Safety Service.
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Emergency services were deployed to downtown Rouyn-Noranda.
Photo : - / Marc-Olivier Thibault
Also as a safety measure, Hydro-Québec interrupted electricity in the area between Perreault Est, Taschereau Est, Principale and Portage Avenue. Around 7,800 customers were temporarily without power. Power was then gradually restored.
In terms of potential sources of defragmentation and explosion, electricity is one source. To ensure that there are no problems, [on maintient] power cut until the situation is under control
explains Mr. Royer.
Some businesses closed their doors for a few hours while others preferred to announce to their customers that they would be closed for the day.
