St. Lazare evacuation ends well

St. Lazare’s IGA shopping center on ch. Ste-Angélique opened for business Tuesday morning following an evacuation 24-hours earlier due to potential snow accumulation danger on the roof.

A National Bank of Canada employee reported hearing a loud noise in the rafters above the bank prior to the evacuation, done by St. Lazare’s firefighters.

More than 10 businesses, excluding IGA, which had cleared its roof three times during the past winter, were closed for the rest of the day Monday.

Building inspectors and engineers checked for structural defects while crews worked into the evening removing snow from roofs.

Catherine Lamarre, owner of Familiprix pharmacy said that while she did not like closing the doors on her customers, she’s happy the building’s owners were cautious.