The fire apparently started in the attic, a little after 3 a.m. Wednesday morning in the building on rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste. A general alert was immediately sounded as fire and flames were visible from the barracks.
Around thirty firefighters responded to the call and assistance from the Régie du lac Saint-Pierre was requested.
“When we arrived, there were two people trying to get in to save a cat. They were bothered by the smoke and then taken to hospital. The cat, we have not seen it again,” specifies the director of the Fire Safety Service of the City of Nicolet, Martin Provencher.
The instability of the roof gave the firefighters a hard time. (Sébastien Lacroix/Le Nouvelliste)
The firefighters then tried to go into offensive mode by going inside the building, but the instability of the roof gave them difficulty. “It’s a cover that has been redone. Before that, there were nine-foot ceilings and it’s now eight-foot ceilings, so it’s walking underneath. That’s why we have trouble finding [le feu]», explains Martin Provencher.
So much so that they had to settle for going into defensive mode to prevent the flames from spreading to the two neighboring apartment buildings. They were also evacuated as a preventive measure.
The firefighters also needed the ladder truck, since they could not reach the roof. Another team was perched on the roof of the neighboring building to douse the blaze on the other side.
The four-unit building was already considered a total loss in the morning. (Sébastien Lacroix/Le Nouvelliste)
Already considered a total loss early in the morning, the building was finally demolished during the intervention. A mechanical excavator operator began the work around 11 a.m. and it continued into the lunch hour.
Around noon, two of the four teams had returned to the barracks. The other two finished the work until around 1:30 p.m., continuing to water the ashes.
Demolition work on the building began around 11 a.m. late in the morning. (Sébastien Lacroix/Le Nouvelliste)
Rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste was closed between rue du Curé-Raimbault and rue la Salle to allow firefighters to do their work. Neighbors and a few curious people witnessed the sad scene.
In total, five occupants and a dog were evacuated and two transports to hospital were necessary. The inconvenienced people were finally discharged during the morning.
According to what we were able to learn on site, the other victims had already found refuge with family.
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