The violent fire which ravaged a residence in Saint-Georges, in Beauce on Friday afternoon left at least one victim and the toll could rise.
• Also read: A house reduced to ashes in Saint-Georges, in Beauce
Saturday afternoon, authorities confirmed that a person was found dead and that further information regarding the identity of the victim is to come. For now, research continues.
Police officers from the Sureté du Québec were at the scene of the fire on Saturday morning to conduct the investigation.
Photo Sarah-Jeanne Tremblay / Le Journal de Québec
Earlier in the day, firefighters and specialists were still trying to extricate a sixty-year-old and a fifty-year-old who remained trapped in the rubble of the building located on 120th Street. According to what the Journal has learned, a third person could be added to the sad toll.
Explosion
Neighbors say it was an explosion that caused the fire.
“I heard the explosion from my house,” explains a neighbor who lives on 118th Street. The noise was so loud that it was heard from 4th Avenue, she adds.
Debris even ended up across the street.
The neighbor of the burned house, Bernard Quirion, was not at the scene when the fire started. When he arrived on the scene, there were, according to him, around thirty firefighters trying to control the flames, several of them on the roof.
“The house burned within ten minutes!” exclaims Alexandre Campeau, a neighbor who saw the building engulfed in flames. “We no longer saw the house, just flames,” mentions another neighbor.
Looking for his father
According to Mr. Quirion and Mr. Campeau, the owner of the building, Michel Lagueux, rented part of his house to tenants. He often left, according to them.
Earlier today, the daughter of the owner of the house, Myriam Lagueux, came forward on social media. She mentioned in a Facebook post that they [les proches] were still looking for his father. Many people from the municipality and surrounding areas have also shared the post.
Major crime investigators and fire technicians are on scene to shed light on this event.
Remember that dozens of firefighters intervened to fight the flames.
René Leclerc / QMI Agency
The fire was so intense that embers reached the roof of a carpet store across the street. A storage building also caught fire.
René Leclerc / QMI Agency
“The firefighters did an extraordinary job,” says Claude Morin, the city’s mayor. The fire being in downtown St-Georges highlights the efforts of the Fire Safety Department for successfully containing the flames and protecting the surrounding area. “I also highlight the collaboration of the Sureté du Québec who acted in a very professional manner and who managed to secure the surrounding perimeter,” he adds.
