A violent sainte-marie fire broke out Thursday afternoon in an apartment building on Rue Notre-Dame Sud in Beauce, sending a thick plume of smoke into the sky and prompting an urgent response from local firefighters. Crews from the Sainte-Marie Fire Service were called at about 1: 30 p. m. ET, and reinforcements from Saint-Elzéar were requested as the blaze spread quickly. Witnesses said all tenants got out in time, while the building was described as a total loss.
Fast-moving flames drew an urgent response
The fire was still not under control an hour after it started, and flames were visible when reporters arrived shortly after ignition. The building is described as a rooming house with several tenants, and the available information points to a serious structural loss rather than a contained incident.
Emergency crews kept working on scene as smoke rose over Sainte-Marie, with Saint-Cyrille and Notre-Dame streets closed to traffic to support the operation. The response widened as firefighters from Saint-Elzéar were added to the effort, showing how quickly the situation escalated in the heart of the town.
Sainte-marie closures and emergency coordination
Police spokeswoman Béatrice Dorsainville of the Sûreté du Québec said, “Everyone would have gotten out. No one would be missing. ” That reassurance matched what multiple witnesses said from the scene, though authorities said the confirmation would come once the fire is fully under control.
In a separate update from the scene, the building was described as a total loss. The cause of the fire was still unknown at the time of writing, and no injuries were mentioned in the available information.
What officials can confirm now
The fire service response in Sainte-marie involved local crews first, then added support from nearby departments as the blaze continued to burn. The closure of two streets and the visible smoke plume underline how disruptive the event was for the area during the early afternoon.
The emergency response also points to the practical challenge facing crews: protect nearby properties, verify that all occupants are out, and bring the fire under control before investigators can move in. For now, the main confirmed facts remain the location, the rapid spread, the street closures, and the reported total loss in Sainte-marie.
What happens next in Sainte-marie
Once firefighters finish suppression work, officials are expected to confirm the condition of the building and begin examining the origin of the blaze. For Sainte-marie, the immediate story remains the same: a fast-moving fire, a major emergency response, and a rooming house left badly damaged after Thursday afternoon’s fire.
