1 dead after fire in Trois-Rivières, Que., social housing complex, 30 units unlivable
A fire in a social housing complex in Trois-Rivières left one person dead and the residents of 30 households without a home Tuesday evening.
Police say the fire broke out around 2:15 p.m. at the Habitations du Vieux-Moulin and is believed to have started on the eighth floor and spread to the ninth.
More than 90 firefighters from the Trois-Rivières fire department and other nearby towns arrived to help put out the blaze. A total of 150 people were evacuated from the building.
Police say the victim was found unconscious in one of the units and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A coroner's inquest was opened and authorities are working to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
Some 30 units in the low-income housing complex, known as an HLM in French, will be unable to accommodate their tenants again due to fire damage.
Inspections of the other units are underway to determine whether the remaining tenants will be able to move back in soon. The Office municipal d'habitation de Trois-Rivières, which manages the HLM, estimates it will take three days to complete the analysis of the building.
The Red Cross is supporting the building's residents and the City of Trois-Rivières will set up a shelter to accommodate them.
"We are in close contact with the Red Cross … to provide logistical and administrative support for disaster victims for the first 72 hours," said Trois-Rivières city manager François Vaillancourt.
