A man is fighting for his life after being injured in a major fire at a Village commercial building Wednesday night. Two other people were injured. The Montreal City Police Department opened an investigation.
Updated yesterday at 9:42 p.m.
The Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM) was alerted around 6:35 p.m. to reports of smoke coming from a commercial building on Sainte-Catherine Street East, between Wolfe and Montcalm streets, in the heart of the Village in Montreal.
The affected store was open when the fire broke out, said Robert Rousseau, department manager at SIM.
At the scene of the accident, firefighters found a man on the ground. He had to be hospitalized, said Nicolas La Salle Abran, head of intervention and spokesman for Urgences-santé. “We would fear for our lives,” he said.
Late Wednesday evening, the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) clarified that this man was still in critical condition.
Two other people were injured; One of them was also taken to the hospital, Mr. Rousseau said. Her condition is not considered critical.
The fire was brought under control around 8:30 p.m. and required the intervention of 90 firefighters. Adjacent buildings were not affected. Damage would be between $200,000 and $250,000, according to Mr. Rousseau.
On the Urgences santé side, two ambulances, a supervisor, an operational support unit and a tactical medical intervention vehicle were deployed.
Since one person was seriously injured, the SPVM was tasked with investigating the causes of the fire, which are currently unknown. A large perimeter was set up in this commercial area of the village for investigation purposes.