Quebec City mayor wants fire-ravaged armoury rebuilt
A day after the Quebec City Armoury was destroyed in a four-alarm fire, Mayor Régis Labeaume was calling on the federal government to rebuild the landmark building.
In a telephone interview from Paris, where he's on an official visit, Labeaume said he plans to contact Heritage Minister Josée Verner and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss plans for reconstruction.
Firefighters were called to the historic building overlooking the Plains of Abraham around 9:30 p.m. ET Friday. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion after the fire began.
Lt. Marco Blouin of the fire department said the intensity of the blaze early on made it impossible for the more than 90 firefighters involved in the battle to save the building.
"When the first firefighters arrived on the scene, they tried to go inside but had to cancel and go on the defensive," he said, adding that the roof collapsed about a half hour later.
Blouin said it's not yet known what might have caused the explosion. He said as far as he knows, there was no ammunition stored in the building.
The armoury is located just outside the walls of the Old City and is home to the Voltigeurs de Québec riflemen, a Canadian Forces reserve unit that's also the oldest French infantry regiment in the country.
Pierre Labrie, the general manager of Quebec City Tourism said the armoury's location on the main access road into the old city make it a "landmark and focus point."
"It's part of the signature of any aerial view of old Quebec City and upper town," he said.
Built in 1884, the armoury boasted the largest suspended wooden ceiling of any building in Canada. It also contained First and Second World War memorabilia, along with artifacts of the Riel Rebellion.
The museum housed personal and regimental souvenirs, various types of arms, papers, archives, flags and pictures, said Labrie.
"They have lost many souvenirs linked to their history of fighting for Canada during various wars," said Labrie.
City Coun. Denise Trudel, who is responsible for the city's heritage buildings, said the armoury was all original construction, and she called the loss "catastrophic."
No one was in the building at the time of the fire and there were no reports of injuries.
The defence minister expressed his relief in a news release Saturday.
"We are greatly relieved that no one was injured in the blaze," said the statement from MacKay. "We will ensure that the Voltigeurs are able to continue their activities and remain one of the jewels in the history of the French-Canadian military."
In the same release, Verner said she was shocked by the news.
"I was stunned to hear the sad news that the Manege Militaire in Quebec City was destroyed by fire," she said, calling it "one of the most important historic buildings" in the city.