After working at the Bon-Pasteur monastery for more than 36 hours, firefighters from the Montreal Fire Department (SIM) finally extinguished all the flames of the fire. Saturday morning, a dozen of them were on site, to ensure that fires did not resume among the debris.
The SIM also confirmed to Duty that the air quality had “become good again” in the area since Friday evening. Due to the presence of firefighters, the quadrangle around the building remains closed to traffic.
The firefighters are now working “in exploratory mode”, explained Sylvain Jalbert, a spokesperson for the SIM, on Friday evening. “We want to make sure there are no more fires and that we can return the building to the owner as soon as possible.”
However, around 10 a.m. Saturday, the fire had not yet been declared completely “under control” by the firefighters, since a series of maneuvers still had to be carried out to secure the building. The SIM specifies that it will not be able to give more details on the possible causes of the fire, as long as it is not formally controlled.
A “structure securing expert” was also inspecting the building on Saturday to assess when residents will be able to return to the premises, among other things.
Remember that the monastery houses a residence for the elderly and a housing cooperative. Several non-profit organizations also occupy offices inside the building, while the chapel in the center was restored in 1985 to become a classical music concert hall.
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