The Bon-Pasteur Chapel, a historic building and performance hall located on Sherbrooke Street East in Montreal, was engulfed in flames on Thursday. The fire started at the end of the afternoon and requires a large deployment of firefighters.
Opaque smoke spread across downtown Montreal late Thursday afternoon. The Montreal Fire Department (SIM) was alerted at 4:30 p.m. to smoke billowing from the roof of the Bon-Pasteur chapel, a heritage building located at the corner of Sherbrooke and Coloniale streets, said Robert Rousseau, spokesperson for the SIM.
Three hours later, the major fire is still not under control. At least 150 firefighters are on the job trying to put out the fire. The flames would have taken in the attic, according to Mr. Rousseau.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The Bon-Pasteur Chapel, a historic building and performance hall located on Sherbrooke Street East in Montreal, was engulfed in flames on Thursday.
“It is still too early to ascertain the damage suffered by the precious heritage building, but there are no fatalities or injuries. A huge thank you to the teams of @MTL_SIM for their work and dedication,” responded Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante on Twitter.
Social housing affected
The smoke spread in the adjacent building of the Chapel, a former convent transformed into an apartment building for people aged 55 and over from the Société d’habitation du Québec, explains Angèle Boivin. There are 37 units in this building.
“There was no alarm, maintains Mme Bovine. I saw ladies screaming in the garden, and as soon as I left my door, a firefighter grabbed me. Our families seeing this on the news must be worried. »
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The smoke spread in the adjacent building of the Chapel, where Angèle Boivin resides.
This elderly lady was evacuated at the end of the day. Without money, without identity document and without her phone, she will have to be taken care of by the SIM and the Red Cross.
Watch out for the smoke
At the end of the day, the firefighters began to make ventilation holes in the roofs to ensure that the smoke escaped. Indeed, although the flames did not spread outside the Chapelle du Bon-Pasteur, the heat of the smoke could cause a new blaze.
Water jets from the Fire Department are used in particular to cool places very affected by smoke, explains Mr. Rousseau.
By late afternoon, five SIM alerts had been issued, the maximum number in Montreal. Around 7:30 p.m., Mr. Rousseau assured that the intervention of the firefighters would still continue for several hours. “No, it’s not under control,” he said.
No one missing or injured has been identified. For Yvan Bourdin, who has lived just behind the Chapel for two weeks, the fire is impressive. “I have never seen so many fire trucks,” he reacts, upstream of the security perimeter established by the Montreal Police Service (SPVM).
“When I came out of my house around 6 p.m., I started to smell a barbecue smell. I thought it was just a small fire, then I saw the mass of smoke, ”says Mr. Bourdin.
Cultural hotspot in Montreal
The historic Chapelle du Bon-Pasteur is recognized as one of Montreal’s prestigious performance halls. It is also a member of the Maisons de la culture network of the City of Montreal.
The auditorium was to accommodate the 111e edition of the 2023 Prix d’Europe Competition, from June 4 to 10. This is the oldest music competition in Quebec.
Valuable musical instruments – a Fazioli concert piano and a 1772 Kirckman harpsichord – are housed in the Chapel, according to the City of Montreal’s website. The enclosure of the building was restored in 1985.
The fire worries the Héritage Montréal organization, which quickly reacted on Twitter.