Eight-alarm fire leads to evacuation of 2,500 students in three Lachute schools

More than 2,500 students were evacuated from Polyvalente Lavigne Secondary School on Wednesday, September 21 as nearly 100 firefighters battled a blaze that began in a rooftop ventilation unit.

According to Lachute Fire Chief Pierre Morand, the blaze was first reported at 10:25 a.m. after a construction crew working on the ventilation unit accidentally sparked a fire while welding.

The workers attempted to put out the fire, though it spread quickly along the roof located above the school's library. Fire alarms inside the school did not sound immediately, however, as the smoke and fire were located outside of the building.

After the alarm was pulled inside, staff began to evacuate the 1,037 students from the Polyvalente Lavigne, as well as 750 students from the neighbouring Laurentian Regional High School (LRHS) and 282 students from the Centre Performance Plus trade school.

"When we arrived at the school, everyone had already been safely evacuated from the three adjoining schools," said Morand. "The fire was flaring in a building on top of the roof that houses the ventilation unit. Construction workers tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire and when we got there, we took a defensive stance to regain control."

Firefighters cut through the roof - composed of membrane covered in six layers of material - and built three trenches along it before cutting into the ceiling. Others battled the smoke and flames on the roof, which Morand said quickly spread between the layers of the roof.

The fire was under control by about 4 p.m. and extinguished by 9 p.m., he added. Firefighters from Lachute, Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, Mirabel, Saint-Colomban, Hawkesbury, Brownsburg-Chatham, Grenville and Grenville-sur-la-Rouge helped to battle the blaze.

Six firefighters were injured and had to be removed by ambulance to the CSSS Argenteuil Hospital, where two were treated for injuries to their ribs and four were treated for respiratory problems due to smoke inhalation.

Fire, smoke and water affected the library, gymnasium and as many as eight classrooms. There was no reported damage to either LRHS or the Centre Performance Plus.

Morand said the fire alarms were all working normally when firefighters arrived and that the alarms did not activate indoors because there was not enough time for smoke to enter the school. Students at Polyvalente Lavigne were escorted onto buses and sent home.

Polyvalente councillor Judith Perron explained the school followed normal procedure: "When the alarm went off, we followed procedure. Each class goes out together and the teachers count the kids again outside. We bring different-coloured signs to indicate if there are problems or if anyone is missing. We all left successfully and the firefighters arrived within minutes."

Following similar procedures, students at LRHS were evacuated and accounted for outside the school. Students waited outside a few hours until they were transported to Laurentian Elementary School and then put on buses a second time and sent home.

"I was in science class and the alarm went off and I thought it was a fake alarm," said LRHS student Rosa Melendez, 15. "It was scary afterwards. It's the first time I've experienced something like this."

While firefighters were battling the blaze and Sûreté du Quebec police officers were assisting with traffic, two teenage boys from Brownsburg-Chatham entered the Polyvalente Lavigne School, though they were apprehended by firefighters and handed over to police custody.

"We intercepted two teens, a 16-year-old boy and another 18-year-old boy from Brownsburg-Chatham," said Lachute SQ division chief Patrick Despres. "The boys entered the school with the perceived intention of theft and they were apprehended by firefighters. The students were not from either of the affected schools."

All three affected schools remained closed on Thursday and officials from the Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord school boards are advising parents to check online to find out when the affected schools might reopen.