3 dead and 30 missing in major fire at Quebec seniors’ residence
Print Edition
Fire raged through a seniors’ residence in eastern Quebec yesterday morning, killing at least three people and leaving about 30 unaccounted for.
The massive fire in the 52-unit complex broke out around 12:30am in L’Isle-Verte, a small town of 1,500 people about 225 kilometers northeast of Quebec City.
Initial reports said 20 residents had been transported to safety, but it was unclear just how many residents were missing in the inferno. Quebec Provincial Police Sergeant Ann Mathieu said authorities were trying to determine the exact number of victims and learn the cause of the blaze.
“About 31 people are on the list of people that Quebec police are looking for. This is very bad news because they have challenges moving around. It is very bad news,” said Francois Lapointe, the member of Parliament for the area. “We’re down to hoping that some of those 31 people were not there.”
“The volunteer firefighters did everything they could. They basically couldn’t save some people they could hear or see and that’s really tough,” Lapointe said.
He said one man could see his mother on a balcony but could not rescue her.
Acting Mayor Ginette Caron said many of unaccounted were confined to wheelchairs and walkers, noting that only five residents in the center were fully autonomous. She said some had Alzheimer’s disease.
Mario Michaud, who lives across the street from the building, said he witnessed the unfolding drama shortly after midnight.
“I got up to go to the toilet and I saw smoke,” Michaud told local newspaper Info Dimanche. “The fire had started on the second floor. I woke up my girlfriend and called 911. I saw the firefighters and they got to work. A woman on the second floor was shouting and she went out on to the balcony. Her son went to get a ladder but he couldn’t get to her. She burned to death.”
Local chief firefighter Yvon Charron called it “a night from hell.”
The building was home to more than 50 people and also housed a social agency, a pharmacy and a hair salon.
Several fire departments were called in to help extinguish the blaze, which completely destroyed the building.
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