Friday blaze destroys Edmundston auto shop
A fire that began Friday evening has destroyed an auto shop in Edmundston.
The Timay & Fils Garage on Main Street in the Rivière-Verte area of the city caught fire around 5 p.m.
No one was injured.
Edmundston Mayor Eric Marquis, who was at the scene of the fire, said extremely cold temperatures posed an extra challenge for firefighters.
"It was a fire that required a lot of time and effort from our firefighters and all of the first responders on the scene," he told Radio-Canada.
"Because of the extreme cold, the wind and all of that … it was really hard for them."
Marquis said water was freezing inside the fire hose.
He said firefighters needed to take turns fighting the blaze because of the cold weather.
Marquis said a construction company across the street from the auto shop opened its doors to firefighters needing a retreat from the cold.
François Provost, who lives nearby, said he witnessed the fire.
"It's a garage. There are chemicals, tires, oil tanks, it burned for a long time. It was complicated, it was windy," Provost told Radio-Canada.
"The flames shot to one side and then the other. The [firefighters] had to reorganize all the time. The more guys there were, the worse it got."
No one from the fire department was available Saturday to give further details.
