Two daycares were evacuated as two vehicles catch fire
Two workers suffered minor injuries after hitting a gas line while excavating, which caused an explosion that made two vehicles catch fire and two daycares to be evacuated, as reported in an article by CityNews.
According to the Service de police de l'agglomération de Longueuil (SPAL), fire broke out at 9:55 am as the workers were excavating and hit a gas line on Curé-Poirier Blvd in Longueuil. The road had been closed in both directions between Westgate and Cartier Street.
The fire lasted for nearly five hours before finally being extinguished before 2 pm.
“Two workers suffered minor injuries related to smoke or gas inhalation, but the cause has not yet been confirmed,” said Francois Boucher, the spokesperson for the Longueuil Police.
There were 110 children who were attending the Pierrot La Lune and Mon empreinte à moi daycares were evacuated with no reported injuries. About 30 residents who lived within the are were also evacuated.
Élise Ducharme Rivard, advisor, communications, and public affairs for Énergir, a natural gas company, stated that breaks in gas lines have the possibility of occurring, noting that there had been a lower number of breaks occurring in recent years.
“We’re trying very hard to do prevention with construction workers and companies to raise awareness on good practices and safe excavation methods,” said Rivard.
Rivard further stated that the firm will be conducting an investigation regarding the incident.
“We’ll do an inquiry to see what happened, if the locate request was done right, if the good excavation methods were used, and then we’ll follow up on that,” she said.
Police have advised the residents to avoid the area for the time being.
