Less than 500 meters separate the buildings targeted by the two blazes. The first intervention by firefighters began around 5:30 a.m., at 699 boulevard Charest Ouest.
Black smoke and flames were seen on the 2nd floor of a building of the Office municipal de l'Habitation du Québec (OMHQ). The latter was evacuated entirely.
No people were injured in this fire. All occupants were able to return to the building, with the exception of the residents of the apartment on the second floor in which the fire took place. They were taken care of by the Red Cross.
Suspect
“Fire Commissioner investigators have reasonable and probable grounds to believe that there was voluntary human intervention,” indicates Alexandre Lajoie, spokesperson for the Quebec Fire Protection Service (SPCIQ).
The investigation was therefore transmitted to the Quebec City Police Department.
In total, 35 firefighters participated in putting out the fire. Charest Boulevard West was closed to traffic from Avenue Marie-de-l'Incarnation due to the large deployment of firefighters. The intervention ended around 8 a.m.
kitchen fire
Around 7:42 a.m., the emergency center received a call mentioning that there was a fire on the stove in a home located at 330 rue de Dieppe.
The first unit on site confirms that there was a fire in the kitchen of the apartment on the second floor. The bulk of the flames had already been put down by the occupants before the firefighters arrived.
Around 20 firefighters worked on extinguishing operations, checking the spread and ventilation. The occupants of the burned home were supported by the Red Cross, but the damage was concentrated in their unit. The other accommodations were able to be reinstated.
The Fire Commissioner's investigation showed that it was an accidental fire linked to cooking food.
“There was no functional smoke alarm in the home affected by the fire,” specifies Mr. Lajoie.
