[PHOTOS] Suspicious fire behind Petit Champlain theater

A suspicious fire broke out in the Petit Champlain sector of Quebec on Tuesday morning.

The Quebec Fire Protection Service (SPCIQ) was called to the scene of a fire at the back of the Théâtre Petit Champlain at 6:45 a.m.

Photo by Guy Martel/QMI Agency

Given its location in a small, crowded neighborhood, 35 firefighters battled the blaze from the start.

SPCIQ spokesperson Alexandre Lajoie explains, “As it is a challenge to deploy our resources, we always pre-plan more staff to intervene in such locations.

Photo by Guy Martel/QMI Agency

Firefighters acted quickly to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading into the building or neighboring buildings.

Photo by Guy Martel/QMI Agency

Only the outer wall was damaged and the situation was quickly brought under control after about an hour.

Photo by Catherine Bouchard

Garbage fire

The fire department rushed to the spot and worked to ascertain the cause and cause of the fire.

Photo by Catherine Bouchard

“Initial observations indicate that the fire started in a dumpster behind the building. The file was transferred to the police because there were traces of voluntary human intervention,” continues Alexandre Lajoie.

The Quebec City Police Department has launched an investigation to shed light on the situation.