By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
More than six months after a fire destroyed an apartment building in Waterloo and left 11 people homeless, the municipality held a ceremony to honour people, businesses and community organizations who pitched in to help the evacuees.
Yves Parenteau, Pierre-Paul Foisy, Marcel Croteau and MNA Isabelle Charest were honoured along with the staff of the Centre d’action bénévole aux 4 Vents, Construction POP Inc., the Paroisse St-Bernardin Catholic parish, Coup de pouce, Comptoir familial de Waterloo and the Office municipal d’habitation Haute-Yamaska–Rouville. Waterloo fire chief Patrick Gallagher hosted the ceremony.
Parenteau, a construction site foreman who lives in Saint-Tite in the Mauricie region and was visiting family in the Townships, was one of the first people to notice the fire on the morning of Nov. 12. “I was on my way to get a coffee and I noticed the facade [of the building] was on fire. There was a stopped car in front of me, and the driver said they were calling the fire department. I ran out to let people know about the fire. There was a person at the third-floor window who asked me what was going on. I told them to wake up their neighbours and bring them out the back. In the space of two or three minutes, the fire was 12 feet high.”
Most of the residents left the building safely thanks to quick thinking from Parenteau and from their neighbour; one person was rescued minutes later by firefighters.
“I guess my training [as a construction site foreman] helped with giving orders and that sort of thing,” Parenteau said. “The adrenaline rush makes you able to do all kinds of things.”
Foisy is a local youth soccer booster who lives near the building that burned down. His children attend the same school as two young boys who lost their home in the fire. He let the boys move in with him and started a GoFundMe to assist survivors which raised $4,500. “I’m proud to be part of the generosity that our community has shown,” he said. “I want my kids to see what generosity is.”
Croteau, owner of the Chaussures Pop shoe store, was recognized for donating winter boots to fire survivors. Charest, the local Red Cross, the CAB aux 4 Vents and the other honorees were recognized for the support they provided to survivors in the days and weeks after the fire.
“There are people who came out of that building with nothing, who were barefoot,” Parenteau said. “It takes people to help, to donate boots and storage space and things like that. It was beautiful to see that there are still generous people in the world.
Criminal origins
Isabelle Viens is the food security support worker at the CAB aux 4 Vents. She has been working with survivors since shortly after the fire. “In the first few days, people were in shock; there was a lot of pain and uncertainty. Some people lost a lot of weight from the shock. There are still some [survivors] who come to get food from the centre’s [communal] fridge, but things are getting better.”
City spokesperson Marilynn Guay Racicot said in a statement that the six families who lost their homes have since been relocated. However, Foisy, who knows several survivors, raised concerns that the building was one of the most affordable in the area. “People there were paying $500 or $600 [per month], and now everything is $1,000, $1,100, $1,500.” He said a new apartment building was being built on the same site, and he worried the new rents would be out of reach for the survivors.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated. Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Jean Ruel said the fire had apparent “criminal origins.” Ruel said the police force had no suspects and could not provide details about the cause of the fire, but that more information may come to light in the coming weeks and months.