A tragedy that marked the entire fire brigade as well as the inhabitants of Baie-Saint-Paul, where major flooding took place this week.
The residents of Baie-Saint-Paul are in mourning. This Wednesday, May 3, 2023, the bodies of two volunteer firefighters were found after a rescue operation linked to the floods that occurred this week in the north of the country., about a hundred kilometers from Quebec City. As they intervened to save citizens, the two firefighters were swept away by the waves. This Monday, May 1, 2023 in the afternoon, Christopher Lavoie, 23, and Régis Lavoie, 55, were helping to evacuate residents of Baie-Saint-Paul before being themselves carried away by the rising waters.
Despite a family name in common, the two victims do not share any family ties and were found thanks to the mobilization of a helicopter which spotted a body on Wednesday morning. A little later in the day, the forces of order found a second body about 500 meters from the place where the first was found, as confirmed by the department of the Sûreté du Québec, reported by our colleagues of BFM TV.
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A hundred municipalities affected
Despite their preparation to intervene in the context of a fire or a flood, the two firefighters unfortunately did not survive this natural disaster. It must be said that rainfall has been particularly heavy in the region lately. The torrential rains coupled with the melting snow have had the effect of considerably increasing the water level in the four corners of this province of Quebec where several emergency alerts have also been put in place this week to prepare the population.
A state of emergency that concerns no less than 105 municipalities in the country, while at present, the provisional assessment reports 600 residences that have been affected by the floods, according to information shared by public security. Despite the sadness of the events, the time is not for meditation for the police who are continuing the rescue operations.
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Faced with the extent of the damage, the Prime Minister of Quebec went there to provide support to the victims. “We lost two men, two volunteer firefighters. It is immensely sad and we are all thinking of families and loved ones. I don’t have the words to describe the distress they must be feeling. I wish them a lot, a lot of courage”explained François Legault on his account Facebook upon his arrival there.