The blaze broke out shortly before 6 p.m. in a two-story residential building located at 51 rue Saint-François.
A large quantity of black smoke was released, which attracted many curious people to the area. When firefighters arrived, flames were visible outside the building.
Load shedding was requested by Hydro-Québec. At the time of writing, more than 5,000 households were without electricity.
Authorities are unable to confirm if there are any injuries at this time. The Fire Department attended the scene to determine the causes and circumstances of the fire.
Evacuations
Residents of the building were evacuated. The Red Cross was asked to take care of them.
There, a lady was in tears because her cat was inside. Residents returning from work made the sad discovery when they arrived at the scene. Some firefighters reportedly suffered discomfort.
The building was heavily damaged, especially to the rear. According to our information, the blaze started in a balcony and quickly spread to other balconies located nearby.
Firefighters had to cut holes in the building to check for internal spread. Several homes will therefore not be able to be reintegrated quickly.
With the collaboration of Juliette Nadeau-Besse.
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