Animals killed by a fire that destroyed the SPCA in Gatineau, Quebec

Firefighters in Gatineau, Que. were only able to rescue a dozen dogs from a fire that destroyed an SPCA Monday night.

Several pbadersby called 911 around 10:30 pm AND Monday, when they saw flames from the two-story SPCA of the Western Quebec Building at 659 Auguste Mondoux Street, in the Aylmer neighborhood.

Firefighters Found Flames On The Roof

A dozen dogs, but the building began to collapse before firefighters could save more animals, said Gary Barnes, Chief Operations of the Gatineau Fire Department

The building was destroyed in the fire (Sandra Abma / CBC)

"It's terrible, very terrible that we have lost this amount of animals, "said Barnes. "We did our best to save those we could and also preserve the lives of the firefighters."

The number of animals that died in the fire is not known.

Lucie Martel, a former animal client

"I know where the cats were," said Martel, who adopted a cat and a dog from the shelter. "I think there are more cats, it's very sad."

The Outaouais SPCA, Varennes Street, in Gatineau, took charge of six rescued dogs.

The damage is estimated at about $ 580,000.

A fire destroyed the SPCA from western Quebec to Gatineau, in the Aylmer district, during the night, and an indeterminate number of animals were killed. About a dozen dogs were saved. (CBC)