A major fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. this Saturday, May 20, on the back balcony of an apartment building on rue Saint-Jacques, in Sainte-Thérèse. As the fire quickly spread inside, more than 75 firefighters from all the Lower Laurentians fire departments had to mobilize to control it.
Investigators confirm that the whole thing was caused by the explosion of a propane tank, itself triggered by the start of a fire in a recycling bin. Residents of the accommodation were not inside when the explosion occurred.
“We had two people inconvenienced by the smoke, but the rest went well,” says Stéphane Dufour, division manager for the operations of the fire safety service of the City of Sainte-Thérèse, who confirms that the explosion n caused no injuries.
” A lot [de gens] we were evacuated by a passerby who triggered the alarm. After that, when we arrived, we completed the evacuation. »
“The first reaction I had was to go out, to see what is happening, confides the passer-by in question. The fire was already too pronounced. »
The fire alarm had not yet sounded at this point.
“These are buildings that are renovated, I find that it is not normal that there is not the alarm which sounds automatically”, he suggests.
“Probably that, as the fire was on the balcony, outside, there was not yet enough smoke inside to trigger the alarm, suggests Stéphane Dufour. We will do the checks with our prevention team. »
