A fire that broke out Sunday afternoon in the accommodation of a building belonging to the Office Municipal d'habitation de Montréal mobilized 70 firefighters and forced the evacuation of residents of 135 units. Three people were affected by the smoke.
Posted at 6:43 p.m.
Due to the activated alarm system, the Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM) received an alert around 4:20 p.m.
A fire broke out in an apartment on the 9th floor of this Office Municipal d'habitation de Montréal (OMHM) building on Lasalle Boulevard near Woodland Park in Verdun, Montreal.
A second alarm was quickly raised to deal with the fire and 70 firefighters were mobilized, explains Marie-Ève Beausoleil, department head of the SIM.
However, the flames did not spread to neighboring houses and the fire was quickly brought under control. Three people – two men and a woman – were transferred to the CHUM due to smoke inhalation. The department head emphasizes that her life is not in danger.
Two hours after the initial alert, residents of this 135-unit building began returning to the site. Seven houses on the floor below the fire were affected by water and tenants are being supported by the Red Cross, Ms Beausoleil says.
This is an HLM in which many seniors live, but which is not intended for older people.