Quebec schools evacuated over rooftop-snow fears
Montreal French school board shuts down but English board schools open
Last Updated: Friday, March 14, 2008 | 3:32 PM ET
CBC News
Montreal's largest school board — the CSDM — shut down all its schools and institutions Friday while crews cleared snow off the roofs, in what a board spokesman called an "exceptional measure."
Workers at an elementary school clear snow off the roof.
(Radio-Canada)
The Montreal French-language school board's decision came after students at a elementary school in Chelsea in western Quebec were sent home early Friday morning over concerns about heavy snow on the roof. A second Chelsea school closed later in the day.
People across Quebec have been worried about rooftop snow after three women died Wednesday in the Laurentians town of Morin Heights when a warehouse roof collapsed.
The CSDM said about 90,000 students in Montreal were sent to nearby churches and community centres as a precautionary measure given the thick snow accumulated on school roofs.
Signs were posted on school doors to inform parents where the children were taken. The students will be able to stay at the temporary locations until the end of the school day, the board said.
"We're talking about exceptional measures," said board spokesman Alain Perron. "It's been an exceptional winter [with] lots of snow on certain buildings. We've asked the janitors to go on top of the schools to see how much snow is up there."
Touring Laval on Friday, Quebec Education Minister Michelle Courchesne said it was Premier Jean Charest who asked school boards to inspect their buildings in the wake of the Morin Heights tragedy.
Schools to stay closed Monday
City engineers inspected CSDM buildings Friday morning and recommended evacuation despite what they described as a "minimal risk" of collapse.
The evacuation order affected 192 buildings in the CSDM system, including 128 elementary schools, 34 high schools, five schools with both elementary and upper-level grades, 16 adult-education centres and nine professional-training centres.
The rooftop snow on this Chelsea school was thigh-high.
(Radio-Canada)
CSDM buildings will remain closed on Monday until officials re-evaluate the situation, Perron said.
Montreal's English School Board (EMSB) remained open Friday, but activities in large indoor spaces such as cafeterias and school gyms were cancelled for the day as a precaution, said spokesman Mike Cohen.
The Marguerite Bourgeoys School Board in west-end Montreal decided to keep its schools open after inspecting its roofs, it said in a press release issued Friday afternoon.
Western Quebec schools evacuated
In Chelsea, the local fire department ordered the École du Grande Boisée evacuation at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday after a caretaker at the school reported he couldn't open a door.
The Chelsea fire chief said about 1.3 metres of snow accumulation on the school roof was dangerous, so students were sent to nearby St. Stevens church.
A second Chelsea school was ordered shut on Friday. Students from the Old Chelsea school were taken to Philemon Wright High School.
Close call for Beauce family
In the Beauce region of eastern Quebec, a father and daughter in Saint-Georges narrowly escaped when the weight of the snow caused the roof to collapse in the kitchen of their home Thursday night.
The two were eating dinner in their kitchen when they heard the ceiling crack.
They called 911 and fled the house only to watch part of the roof cave in moments later. The collapse crushed the stove, police said.
Local authorities launched a public awareness campaign to get people to clear snow from their roofs.
