Historic Clarendon Hotel in Vieux-Québec catches fire
It took 80 firefighters close to three hours Wednesday afternoon to put out a fire in the 160-year-old Clarendon Hotel in Vieux-Québec.
The fire began at around 1:15 p.m. and was declared a four-alarm fire within minutes.
Bill Noonan, a spokesperson for the Quebec City fire department, told Radio-Canada the fire started in the hotel's mechanical room and was mostly contained to the sixth floor, with some flames reaching the roof.
The hotel had been undergoing repairs.
About 30 people were evacuated from the building, although just two of them were hotel guests.
The couple, from Rimouski, were moved to the nearby Chateau Frontenac.
Hotel Clarendon is on the corner of Sainte-Anne and des Jardins streets, close to Quebec City Hall, in the heart of the district declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Built in 1858, it has been a hotel since 1870. It was named the Hotel Clarendon in 1894, when it was sold to a new owner.
