Major overnight fires in Montreal area gut homes, vacant building

There were at least three major fires in the Montreal area overnight.

Around 10 p.m., about 200 apartments on Maple Blvd. in Chateauguay had to be evacuated Thursday night after a major fire broke out at Domaine des Erables, a complex with a section reserved for seniors.

Joan Stewart, 85, was in her third-floor unit when she heard the alarm.

"I didn't bring the walker, I just went down," she said.

When the first firefighters arrived, there were a number of residents on their balconies.

"They're on their balconies, saying 'I'm the first, I'm the first'... everyone wanted to be the first. It's quite a hard decision to make," said Patrick Desmarais, assistant chief of the Chateauguay fire department.

More than 100 firefighters, some from neighbouring towns, were called to help put out the flames and bring residents down to safety. Within a half hour, everyone was out.

The Red Cross set up a shelter at the high school across the street for the residents who had nowhere to go. Four people were brought to a local hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Investigators say the fire started under a balcony in the basement, where the laundry room and storage lockers are. They say there's no evidence to suggest the blaze was deliberately set.

The Chateauguay Civitan Club is collecting donations of toys and clean clothes for the victims Friday as of 2:30 p.m.

Firefighters work to put out a blaze in Chateauguay Friday March 25, 2016.

Then around 11 p.m., Montreal firefighters received a call for a fire on Soeurs Grises St. in the Old Port.

Firefighters say the flames spread very quickly. About 150 firefighters were called to the scene and had to fight the fire from the outside because they believed the fire compromised the building’s structural integrity. Part of the building collapsed and the rest is being demolished.

“There's a very large chimney, it's over 50 feet high, so because of that there's a danger of that falling and it takes special equipment to take that down safely,” said Ian Ritchie of the Montreal fire department.

Firefighters found suspicious elements at the scene and so the Montreal police arson squad is investigating. The building was vacant save for a 52-year-old man, believed to be a squatter, who was rescued and treated for smoke inhalation. Police questioned the man Friday then released him.

Restaurant owner Joe Mercuri was serving customers when the fire broke out.

“I was approaching the table I saw a bright light, a bright orange light so I looked a little further and I could see the smoke,” he said. Mercuri called 911 and though firefighters arrived within minutes, the top floor was already engulfed in flames and part of the building had collapsed.

“It happened so fast it felt like it was five seconds,” he said.

The Montreal police arson squad is investigating to determine how an abandoned building with no electricity burned so quickly.

“There were certain elements on the scene that lead us to believe it may have been a voluntary act,” said Montreal police spokesperson Abdullah Emran.

The century-old former industrial building was not long ago set to be converted into condos. Some were pushing for its facades to be maintained.

Montreal firefighters were forced to fight a fire in the Old Port from the outside March 25, 2016.

And around 3 a.m., Montreal firefighters were dispatched to a home on Sunshine St. in Dollard des Ormeaux for a house fire.

A man was found in the basement of the home and was badly injured. Two firefighters were also hurt while rescuing the man.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A man was seriously hurt in a fire in DDO early Friday, March 25, 2016.