Les équipes de pompiers volontaires ont combattu pendant plusieurs heures les flammes qui ravageaient des bateaux de pêche sur le quai de Grande-Entrée, aux Îles-de-la-Madeleine, dimanche au petit matin. Au total, on déplore la perte de cinq homardiers.
« C’est un réveil brutal [dimanche] morning,” says the mayor of the municipality, Antonin Valiquette, in an interview with The Press.
The emergency call was received around 4:20 a.m. Sunday morning to report that a fishing boat had caught fire on the Grande-Entrée quay, according to information from Simon Mary, director of the fire and public safety department. of the municipality.
About thirty volunteer firefighters were mobilized. When they arrived on site, the fire had already spread to two other lobster boats. Many fishermen mobilized to shelter the other boats from the flames and contain the fire. It took more than three hours to extinguish the main fires.
Five boats ravaged by flames
Of the five charred lobster boats, two are still floating, but three have sunk. “It’s a total loss for the five boats,” underlines Simon Mary. According to his information, there were no deaths and no injuries, neither among civilians nor among firefighters. A sixth boat suffered minor damage, the mayor said, and the dock was also damaged.
PHOTO TAKEN FROM FABRICE VANHOUTTE’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Two burnt-out lobster boats still float at the Grande-Entrée wharf
“One of the volunteer firefighters was a captain and was spraying his own boat this morning. It must have been harder than anything for him,” adds Antonin Valiquette. He praises the exemplary work of the volunteer firefighters, who were very responsive. As of mid-afternoon Sunday, several were still on site as a precaution.
The circumstances of the fire are not yet known. “An investigation is ongoing, but nothing indicates to us that the origin of the fire was anything other than accidental,” said the mayor.
This is the largest fishing port in the Magdalen Islands: more than a hundred fishing boats are moored there. “The wind was generally favorable, it was blowing from the south,” he explains. “Otherwise, it could have spread to the entire boat park. It would have been much more serious.”
He also says that the affected fishermen and their families received a huge wave of support from the Madelinots. “You should know that in the Magdalen Islands, a fishing boat is practically a member of the family for the captains. It’s much more than a work tool,” he explains.
Decontamination work in progress
The mayor added that much work remained to inspect the quay, remove ship wrecks from the water and contain oil pollution spilling into the port.
“There were several thousand liters of oil in the boats,” emphasizes Simon Mary. Floating booms were put in place and images were taken by drone to assess the extent of polluted waters, with the help of the Coast Guard, Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, among others. A little later on Sunday, the plan was to vacuum up the gasoline floating on the surface.
“On the other hand, everything indicates to us that the other fishermen will be able to take to the sea [lundi] », Indicates Antonin Valiquette. There is one week left before the end of the lobster fishing season.