Firefighters in the municipality of Percé, on the Gaspé peninsula, have lost one of their main fire halls, after a blaze broke out Friday morning, destroying the Barachois station house.



Percé's interim director of fire safety, Luc Lebreux, said when crews arrived around 7:30 a.m., the building was engulfed in flames.

Two emergency vehicles were parked inside the fire station in Barachois. (Submitted by Dana Boyle)



"It's a shock for the entire community of firefighters. We are really saddened by this," said Lebreux. "It's a shock for the entire community of firefighters. We are really saddened by this," said Lebreux.

The Barachois fire hall served as a meeting point for the Percé fire department, he said, because of its central location on the coast.

Reinforcements from Percé, Gaspé, Grande-Rivière and Cap-Espoir were called to the scene and quickly got the fire under control, he said.

The smoke from the fire could be seen several kilometres away. (Submitted by Lauren Walshe Roussel)

There was no one inside the building, but two vehicles were parked inside: one fire truck and one emergency vehicle. The town is served by six volunteer firefighters.

Lebreux estimates the damage at around $1 million.

The director of the local fire department said his crew was saddened to see their central fire hall go up in smoke. (Martin Toulgoat/Radio-Canada) "We are already in solution mode," he said, explaining they are looking at ways to replace the emergency vehicles and to find a new space for the crew.

'Could have been worse'

Barachois resident Madonna Tapp said she had just made her morning coffee when she looked out the window and saw black smoke rising straight into the sky.

She said her thoughts are with the volunteer firefighters who have lost their station.

"They worked for years and years on our little fire hall, and now it's nothing but ashes," Tapp said.

All that was left of Barachois's fire truck that had been parked inside the station is this burnt-out carcass. ( Submitted by Lauren Walshe Roussel)

Seeing the smoke billowing up in a straight line, Tapp said it's a blessing the fire didn't break out over the past few days, when high winds were blowing on the coast.

"If that would have been yesterday, I think half of Barachois would have [gone] with it," she said.

Carl Bond is the general manager of Robin's general store, the building next to the fire station.

"There was no wind. It could have been a lot worse," Bond concurred.

He said the building burned to the ground in less than an hour.