Cause of Quebec City Armoury fire being investigated

The National Research Council’s Institute for Research in Construction (NRC-IRC) based in Ottawa has been asked to help with determining what caused the massive fire that destroyed the historic Quebec City Armoury last April.

The drill hall on the Grande Allee in Quebec City was constructed in 1887, but was still being used by the Department of National Defence. It was a drill hall and was home to two reserve units of the Canadian Forces.

On the evening of April 4, 2008 fire swept through the building and the fire fighters could do little but minimize the damage. The building’s drill hall, which was being renovated at the time, had the largest suspended wooden ceiling in Canada.

NRC-IRC has been asked to help the Canadian Forces Fire Marshall investigate and report on the timeline of events on that night and to evaluate the structural response of the wooden ceiling.

The work will include computer simulations and benchmark tests, with a report due by March this year. Dr. Noureddine Benichou is project manager at NRC-IRC.