Old fire department building in Montreal is for sale

Old fire department building in Montreal is for sale

The building where seven people tragically lost their lives last March has just been put up for sale by its owner.

• Also read: Deadly fire in Old Montreal: Quebec has urgently closed the demolition site

• Also read: Fire in Old Montreal: It's the Pointe-à-Callière Museum's turn to file a lawsuit

• Also read: Old Montreal arson: Charlie Lacroix's family files $1.5 million lawsuit

“The building [a] “Substantial damage occurred following the fire that occurred on March 16, 2023,” said the announcement of the building being for sale for nearly $3 million.

The impressive building housed several rental accommodations available on the Airbnb platform.

In March 2023, a tragedy occurred there when a fire caused seven deaths and nine injuries.

However, the property file does not only list people who lost their lives there. The fire is briefly discussed there. We can simply read that “cleaning of the site and reconstruction of the building are mandatory”.

Multiple lawsuits

In the wake of the events, the father of Nathan Sears, one of the victims, also filed a $22 million class action lawsuit against the building's owner, Émile Benamor, and against Airbnb.

Subsequently, on September 15, 2023, the family of another victim, Charlie Lacroix, filed a lawsuit against the city of Montreal, as well as the landlord of the rooms on Airbnb and the owner, Mr. Benamor, for $1.5 million.

In return, Émile Benamor filed a $7.5 million lawsuit against Montreal in September.

In particular, he claims that the number of firefighters was inadequate and that certain city standards regarding listed buildings contributed to the fire's outbreak.

Already several interested parties

For $2.95 million, the new owner will gain access to the damaged building and 5,158 square feet of land.

The ad was posted online a few days before Christmas.

The real estate agent handling the sale says she has already received several inquiries and they know there was a fatal fire.

Can you share information about this story?

Write to us or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.