Fifth-alarm fire forces out residents in Little Burgundy

About 150 firefighters battled a fifth-alarm fire Sunday at a four-storey, 24-unit residential building in Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighbourhood, forcing residents from their homes, the Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal said.

The building is at the corner of de Lévis and Sainte-Cunégonde streets, near Atwater Market. The fire department said no one was missing and no injuries had been reported, Radio-Canada and La Presse reported. Le Journal de Montréal reported in a headline Monday that dozens of people were displaced.

The fire department received the call at 3:20 p.m., communications division chief Martin Guilbault told CBC News. Radio-Canada said the fire began on the roof and spread to the attic space. Three of the building’s floors were affected, CBC said.

Fifth alarm is the department’s highest level. Guilbault told Radio-Canada that such fires are rare, with none over the summer but two in the past two weeks, this one and another in the Saint-Michel area. The flames could be seen from Mount Royal park late in the afternoon, according to Radio-Canada.

The term “immeuble,” the French word for building, drew more than 1,000 searches on Google Trends in Canada on Monday morning, along with “incendie Montreal” and “Montreal fire.”

Firefighters were still working late into the evening. At about 10 p.m., fire department section chief Émilie Barbeau-Charlebois told La Presse the operation was expected to last much of the night, with several hours of work left at the roof and attic. Section chief Eric Lafrance told La Presse that part of the roof had collapsed.

The extent of the damage was not yet known. La Presse reported that the 24 units and four units in an adjoining building in the same complex could have been damaged by fire or water. It was not immediately clear how many families would need new housing, the fire department told La Presse.

Red Cross volunteers went to the scene to help residents. Montreal police helped with traffic and a safety perimeter. Two firefighters were medically assessed but did not need to go to hospital, CBC reported.

Hydro-Québec cut power to the area at about 4:30 p.m., affecting more than 1,100 addresses, CBC said, and authorities asked the public to avoid the area. The cause of the fire had not been determined as of the latest reports reviewed by Canada News Media.

Little Burgundy, in the city’s Sud-Ouest borough, has a long history as a home to Black railway porters and their families.

This is a developing story and will be updated as the fire department releases more information.

Sources: Radio-Canada, CBC News, La Presse, Le Journal de Montréal.

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