The chief of the Fire Department of the rural municipality of Montcalm, Eugène Fillion, adds that up to “80 or 100 firefighters” fought the fire.
Émile Lapointe (View profile)Émile Lapointe
A fire destroyed a grain elevator in Saint-Jean-Baptiste, in southern Manitoba, overnight from Friday to Saturday, but caused no injuries. In the area, around ten homes and a residence for the elderly where around 60 people live were evacuated.
The chief of the Fire Department of the rural municipality of Montcalm, Eugène Fillion, specifies that firefighters should be on site all day Saturday and possibly Sunday.
Half of the building was destroyed […]. We are trying to clear the area so we can knock down the walls and get to the middle of the building to put out the flames.
Eugène Filion adds that up to 80 to 100 firefighters fought the fire.
We attempted to water the structures where the fire spread to prevent them from burning. The Morris, Saint-Jean and Emerson teams were a big help, he notes.
Saint-Jean-Baptiste resident Joanne Picton said she felt the heat of the flames all the way to her home, about a three-minute walk away. “It was stressful […]. The flames were intense and gave off a lot of heat. »
She did not have to evacuate her home, but firefighters advised her to be ready to leave the area. “It was crazy, completely crazy,” says Ms. Picton.
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The grain elevator on fire in night from Friday to Saturday.
Grain was stored inside the building which belongs to the company Nuvision Commodities, which employs around ten people. Owner of the building and member of the organization, Nathan Sabourin says he is “shocked” by the event.
I was very proud that the company is present in the municipality […]. I feel bad for the community, he says. Nathan Sabourin specifies that this burned grain elevator was built in 1949.
He adds that even if the elevator was destroyed, it is possible that the steel structures located nearby could still be used.
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Eugène Fillion specifies that firefighters should be on site all day Saturday and possibly Sunday.
Paul Gilmore, prefect of the rural municipality of Montcalm, whose is part of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, notes that this building was one of the last of its kind in a French-speaking community in Manitoba.
“It's part of our history, he has been here for a long time,” underlines the prefect.
The municipality's grain elevator was also highlighted in the memoir of Manitoba architect Janelle Fillion.
It must be preserved because it is one of the last in a Franco-Manitoban village. It's part of our history and, to me, it shows that this is a community that's super proud of its agrarian identity,” she said in an interview in 2022.
Le Téléjournal Manitoba
With information from Thibault Jourdan, Mario DeCiccio and Josh Crabb
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116
