LAVAL - Howard S. Billings high school in Chateauguay will be closed Thursday because of a fire that broke out the night before in the adjacent Nova Career Centre.
The Nova Career Centre will be shuttered for the rest of the week.
The decision comes after a fire broke out Wednesday night in the ceiling of the adult centre, and spread to the roof above the welding room.
Staff and adult students inside the building promptly rushed outside when the fire alarms sounded, and nobody was hurt.
Firefighters spent four hours attacking the flames before getting control of the fire.
Smoke and water damage to the Nova Centre is extensive and estimated at well over $100,000.
There is no damage to the high school, but school officials decided to cancel classes for the day because it would be too disruptive with firefighters and repair crews examining the building next door.
The cause of the fire is not known.
