Major fire destroys elementary school in Prevost, Que.

The Val-des-Monts Elementary School in Prevost, Que. was completely destroyed by fire.

A major fire destroyed a primary school in Prévost, Que., in the Laurentians, on Friday night.

At around 8 p.m., several municipalities assisted in putting out the blaze at Val-des-Monts School, and the cause is unknown at the moment.

Mayor Paul Germain thanked the other fire departments on Saturday morning in a message posted on the town’s Facebook page.

“We would like to extend our warmest thanks to the Prévost Fire Department, as well as those of Saint-Hippolyte, Saint-Jérôme, Saint-Colomban, Sainte-Sophie, Sainte-Thérèse, Blainville, Boisbriand, Mirabel, Saint-Sauveur, Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs, Sainte-Adèle and APALL for their rapid and effective response, as well as the teams from the Sûreté du Québec, the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, and not forgetting the city’s infrastructure and community safety services for their essential support,” the mayor wrote in his post. “September 12 will remain a sad evening, but the collaboration and professionalism of everyone involved is heartwarming.”

New Quebec Education Minister Sonia LeBel promised that the ministry will debrief with teams on Saturday morning to develop an action plan.

“All my thoughts are will the Prevost community,” she wrote on X. “Thank you to the firefighters who helped combat the blaze.”

No one was injured in the fire.

A crisis unit is being set up to determine where the approximately 400 students in the Rivière-du-Nord School Service Centre will go to school. Val-des-Monts is one of three in the service centre.

Some of the students may need to travel long distances.

“We’re looking further because for sure we cannot absorb 400, more than 400 students here in the area,” said service centre director general Rene Brisson.

The region’s MNA Sonia Belanger was at the site on Saturday, promising provincial support. Her office also donated $10,000.

The city has issued a boil water advisory for residents in the area.

In another Facebook post, the Sir Wilfrid Laurier English School Board expressed its solidarity with the families affected.

“Our hearts go out to the pupils, staff and colleagues at Val-des-Monts Primary School and the CSSRDN community following last night’s devastating fire. A school is more than a building: it is the heart of a community. Our thoughts and support are with you during this difficult time,” the post reads.

Scooping out support

A young entrepreneur in the area is donating one dollar from every ice cream sold to help rebuild the school she attended.

Simonne Groleau, 17, opened her business in the summer and wanted to give back.

“I went to this school, so, for me, it’s something important and like every day we see a lot of kids at the ice cream shop that are coming and they’re like, ‘Oh my God! I just started kindergarten this morning!’ It was so nice,” she said. “They’re very happy to go to school to see their friends, so for me it’s very important to give back to them.”

With reporting from CTV News Montreal journalist Swidda Rassy.

With files from the Canadian Press.