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Federal government officials say the Louis St. Laurent building is still not safe enough for investigators to examine and determine what caused the blaze that shut down the facility in Gatineau on April 21. The building which had offices for 1,800 Department of National Defence employees has remained closed since the fire broke out on the sixth floor of the facility.

“The structural investigation of the building continues as planned,” Pierre-Alain Bujold, a spokesman for Public Services and Procurement Canada, told Defence Watch. “Plans and specifications to remove the debris from the roof and stabilize the building structure is presently in the works.”

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He said the fire investigation started immediately after the blaze but cannot be completed in the area of origin until the building has been stabilized and declared safe by structural engineers. “Once this work is completed and the building structure has been stabilized and considered safe, the fire investigation can then proceed in the area of origin,” Bujold added.

Some vehicles owned by DND employees have also been retrieved from the building’s garages.

“Since the evening of May 3, 17 cars have been safely removed from the unheated parking garage at the Louis St. Laurent building,” said Bujold. “Arrangements have been made with DND for employees to pick up their cars. The remainder of the cars in both the unheated and heated parking garages will be retrieved on May 4.”

He noted that two vehicles are still in the heated parking garage and 11 in the unheated parking garage.