A resident set fire to their apartment after spilling gasoline. The sprinklers carried the contaminant up seven floors. The result: 40 units affected, $950,000 in damages, and contamination invisible in all porous materials. Bélisle immediately recommended a laboratory, implemented a rigorous protocol, and delivered a documented reconstruction in two predictable phases. Zero residual contaminant.
Type of incident: Fire + gasoline contamination (via sprinkler water damage)
Sector: Rental residential
Scope: ~40 units, 7 floors, common areas, mechanical and elevator shafts
Value of the incident: $900,000 – $950,000
Tenants displaced: ~40 tenants (+ ~60 other residents in the building)
Context
A resident with mental health issues poured several gallons of gasoline in their apartment before starting a fire. The sprinklers activate. Water spreads from the seventh floor to the ground floor, carrying the gasoline with it. All porous materials it touches are contaminated.
The result: approximately 40 units across 7 floors, common areas, stairwells, and mechanical and elevator shafts are affected. The loss is estimated at between $900,000 and $950,000.
Those involved: a claims adjuster, a building damage estimator, a building manager, the director of operations for the property management company, a mandated laboratory, a specialized cleaning company, and approximately 40 insurers separate from the tenants.
The real problem
This case is unusual in two ways. First, the nature of the contaminant: gasoline is a volatile hydrocarbon that seeps into all porous materials. You can’t see what you haven’t yet tested. Without a rigorous protocol, there’s a risk that contaminants could remain hidden within the walls; a situation that would restart the entire process from scratch.
Then there’s the multitude of stakeholders: approximately 40 tenants, each insured by their own company, each with separate coverage limits for relocation. Every piece of late or inaccurate information creates friction for the claims adjuster.
The pressure
The most critical situation arises in the first few hours: the removal of contents. One of the two elevators is out of service. The building houses approximately 100 people. Each move must be planned down to the day, taking into account the actual capacity of the working elevator.
Meanwhile, the building manager is in panic mode, the insurer wants a clear plan, and the tenants’ insurers are demanding re-entry deadlines. Everyone is waiting for a response, and the work cannot yet begin.
The intervention
Upon taking charge, Bélisle identifies the contamination by its very nature and immediately recommends that the insurer commission a laboratory. This is the fundamental decision in this case: without analysis, we don’t know what to remove. With the laboratory in place, each area is assessed before any intervention.
The work sequence: laboratory analysis → Bélisle demolition → specialized cleaning company decontamination. This chain is repeated zone by zone, from the most contaminated floor down. Thermal cameras and humidity meters are used daily to adjust the scope in real time.
A content removal plan is established with the building manager, floor by floor, according to the elevator’s capacity. The dates are communicated to the 40 tenants’ insurers to coordinate relocations and avoid exceeding coverage limits.
The reconstruction is structured in two phases of 20 units, with fixed start and end dates. The claims adjuster receives weekly reports: progress, hours, suppliers. No unpleasant surprises.
Unforeseen events
The elevator shaft was affected. Tests were required to assess the extent of the damage because this risk was anticipated and evaluated from the outset. Result: no structural damage.
If the decontamination protocol had been incomplete, the outcome would have been straightforward: residual odors or hidden contaminants revealed after handover, reopening the case with additional costs and increased pressure on the claims adjuster.
Result
Reconstruction : 40 units, 7 stories, 2 phases of 20 units — schedule met
Decontamination : Validated by laboratory, no residual contaminants
Coordination : 40 tenant insurers informed, contents removals planned
Monitoring: Weekly reports provided to the claims adjuster throughout the project
Incidents : None
“Our agility in addressing a non-standard challenge, in full collaboration with all the necessary stakeholders: that’s what made the difference.”
— Maxime Bélisle, Project Manager