A major fire engulfed a heritage church in Saint-Ours, in Montérégie, on Thursday evening.
The town said in a Facebook post that the fire was reported early in the evening, and emergency services were quickly dispatched to the scene.
“This is an extremely painful time for our citizens,” said Saint-Ours Mayor, Sylvain Dupuis.
“The Saint-Ours Church represents an important part of our history, the hallmark of our community and our collective identity. We are deeply grateful to all the firefighters who are working together to protect this symbol of our heritage,” he added.
As of 10 p.m. on Thursday flames were still seen burning though the Église de l’Immaculée-Conception, according an update provided by the City.
“The fire is impressive and still confined to the church,” they wrote on Facebook yesterday night. “The teams on site are doing a colossal and incredible job, and we can be proud of the collaboration of neighbouring services and our teams.”
Residents were advised to avoid the area to help facilitate the work of emergency responders.
