Rogers Cell Tower Catches Fire in a City North of Montreal [Update]

A 28-meter metal cell tower in a city north of Montreal was found in flames today. According to CTV News, the Rogers-owned tower is located behind the Plaza Laval Élysée in the Chomedey neighbourhood.

“There is major damage on telecommunications equipment on the tower,” the Laval fire department told the publication. The fire department originally said the tower was 5G, but Rogers later confirmed it is actually 3G/4G. 

?? MISE À JOUR // La tour de communication n’était pas une 5G comme le laissait croire les premières infos obtenue des médias.

?? 02:13// Feu à une tour de télécommunications dans le secteur de Chomedey. L’enquête incendie a été confié au Service de police de Laval. pic.twitter.com/sSbbtdxfUa

— APL Pompiers Laval (@APLPOMPIER)

May 1, 2020

“The safety of our teams, customers and communities is of the utmost importance to us and we are thankful no one was hurt,” a Rogers spokesperson said in a statement. “We are working with local authorities as they investigate.”

Police were patrolling the area when they noticed smoke in the tower. Families from five surrounding residences had to be relocated due to their proximity to the tower.

“We feared that the tower would collapse,” said a spokesperson for the Laval police, who are now investigating the case. As of now, the cause of fire is still unknown.

With some theorists claiming the coronavirus can communicate through radio waves, especially the 5G towers, it could just be another case of vandalism.

UPDATE:

TELUS, which also hosts some communication equipment on this tower, has provided us with the following statement regarding the incident:

“Our TELUS network team was able to optimize nearby tower equipment to ensure we continued to provide critical 4G LTE wireless service to the area. When vital communications infrastructure is destroyed by criminal acts, lives are put at risk by removing the ability for local citizens to call 911. Our networks are more important than ever during the COVID-19 crisis in enabling Canadians to stay connected to their jobs, schools, medical help, government services, and loved ones.”