Dozens of firefighters battled a two-alarm fire downtown on Monday afternoon. The Montreal Fire Department said a vacant building caught fire at 3435 Saint-Laurent Boulevard between Milton and Sherbrooke Streets. The fire broke out at 1:15 p.m., said Guy Lapointe, division chief with the Montreal Fire Department, adding that 40 to 50 firefighters battled the flames, which emitted thick smoke. “The building itself was a vacant building. It was actually already partially taken down. It was only the front of the building that was still up, that’s come down now,” said Lapointe. “It was very intense when we arrived on the scene. It was already completely propagated to the entire building, or what was left of it.” The fire spread to the building directly next to it, which included four apartments and a vacant shop on the ground floor. Two families were forced out of their homes as a precaution. “At this point, I can’t tell you yet if they’ll be able to go back to their apartments tonight. We’re still waiting on information regarding that,” said Lapointe, adding that firefighters are assessing the damage on the neighbouring building. So far, there are no details on the cause of the fire, but Lapointe said Montreal police have taken over the investigation. No one was injured. Shortly after 3 p.m., the Montreal Fire Department reported that the fire was under control. Traffic is closed within the area near Ontario, Saint-Dominique, Prince Arthur, and Saint-Urbain Streets. - With files from CJAD 800 Radio’s Dario De Felice
