A building is on fire in Old Montreal.
The fire broke out around 8 p.m. before spreading to the upper floors.
According to Sylvain Jalbert, division chief of the Montreal Fire Department (SIM), a call was made in the middle of the evening to report the devastating fire at 639 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, opposite Rue Saint-Henri in Old Montreal.
“Right now we are in full combat, in defense mode,” he confirmed to the Canadian Press.
Everything indicates that the building is empty, according to the Montreal Fire Department, which has currently reported no injuries.
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Everything indicates that the building is empty, according to the Montreal Fire Department, which has currently reported no injuries.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Stéphane Grégoire
A fifth alarm was triggered to contain the fire, resulting in the deployment of approximately 150 firefighters.
The firefighters’ deployment could last several hours or even part of the night.
The cause of the fire must be determined
Given that the fire is still ongoing, it is premature to speculate on the possible cause of the fire.
“We don’t know the cause,” Mr. Jalbert repeated. It’s our investigators who will try to figure this out once they get to the scene. We hope to be able to enable them to start working as soon as possible.
If there is evidence that the fire could be of criminal origin, the investigation would be handed over to the Montreal police department, the department head said.
However, it may take some time to determine the cause of the fire, he added. It probably won’t happen tomorrow or in the next few days.
With information from Jacob Côté and The Canadian Press