Great Fire of Quebec City

Seven people died in the conflagration [citation needed] and 20,000 people lost their homes in one day, which makes it the worst catastrophe that the city has ever known.

The fire began at 4 a.m. in the home of a grocer of Saint-Joseph Street, right next to the Gabrielle-Roy Library.

[1] Firefighters did not have enough water and were unable to control the fire, which began to spread due to a north-easterly wind.

The blaze later spread from the Saint-Charles River to the hillside of Sainte-Geneviève.

The faubourg Saint-Sauveur was almost completely engulfed in flames by 4 p.m. while Saint-Roch was slightly less affected.