The Quebec Fire Protection Service (SPCIQ) had to intervene more than a hundred times in a matter of hours Thursday night as damage and fires were likely caused by lightning and rain.
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The SPCIQ’s 1 a.m. report reports 102 intrusions, including 31 for electrical hazards, 30 for water damage and 10 for fire.
One of these fires broke out at around 8:40 p.m. after lightning struck a two-story apartment building on General Vanier Street in the La Cité-Limoilou district.
The thirty firefighters dispatched to the scene quickly brought the situation under control, but the two occupants were not able to return to their home immediately, although they were unharmed.
Shortly after 9 p.m., another fire brigade operation was needed in Rue des Impatientes when a woman saw flames and smoke on a neighbor’s wall after a lightning strike.
Another fire broke out at around 10:30 p.m. in a residential building on rue Camille-Lefebvre, near rue Gabriel-Lajeunesse, in Beauport (see pictures in the main video).
Emergency calls reported flames and the smell of smoke at a fourth floor condo after lightning struck, forcing residents to evacuate.
A second alert was raised to mobilize more firefighters who eventually got the blaze under control while an RTC bus was called to the scene for the victims.
Firefighters went to the scene of the three fires to better understand what was happening, although lightning was involved in all three cases.
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