The fire in the vacant historic building in Old Montreal, owned by real estate giant Shiller Lavy Inc. was brought under control at dawn on Saturday. Dozens of firefighters were mobilized on Friday evening and the damage amounted to several million dollars.
Posted at 9:58 am
No one was injured in this major fire, which is reminiscent of the fire that devastated another heritage building in Old Montreal last March, leaving seven people dead.
On Friday evening around 8 p.m., firefighters were called to Notre-Dame Street West, at the corner of Saint-Henri Street, for a fire in a vacant building. Nearly 150 firefighters were mobilized to fight the flames. With no one on site, firefighters attacked the fire from the outside to protect adjacent buildings.
By midnight the flames were under control, although the fire had not yet been officially declared “under control”. The fire was over by 5 a.m. Saturday morning, Stéphanie Lorrain, head of prevention at the Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM), told La Presse.
The facade of the listed building has been preserved, explains Ms. Lorrain. However, the rest of the building is a total loss, she adds.
According to the City of Montreal’s real estate assessment list, this building belongs to the Shiller Lavy Inc. group, a major player in the real estate sector in Montreal. In 2021, it was valued at nearly $2.5 million. The company was contacted by email and had not responded to La Presse at the time of writing.
An explosion before the flames?
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire. On Friday evening, residents told La Presse they heard an explosion before the fire broke out. “There was a big bang,” said Jia, who met on the street while still waiting for news from the fire department to find out if she could return home.
The SIM was unable to provide any further information on Saturday morning about this explosion heard by the neighborhood.
Investigations into the causes of fires usually begin on Mondays, explains Ms. Lorrain from SIM. If a crime is detected, the investigation will be referred to the Montreal City Police Department.
This event must have brought back sad memories for some area residents, as on the night of March 16, another major fire a few blocks away claimed seven lives and left many families in mourning.
The man suspected of setting this fire has a long criminal past and was on the run after escaping from a prison at the time of the tragedy, La Presse revealed in a report published this week.
With Vincent Larin, La Presse