A 77-year-old man died after a five-alarm fire broke out at a home in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough early Sunday morning. The Montreal fire department (SIM) was called around 4:50 a.m. about a fire on Mont-Royal Avenue, between Saint-André and Saint-Hubert streets. The SIM said it dispatched about 50 trucks and 150 firefighters to the scene. A three-storey commercial and residential building was ravaged by flames. It had a loan agency on the main floor and two residential units above it. According to the SIM, the fire started on the top floor. A man inside was transported to hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead. The blaze spread and damaged neighbouring buildings, forcing three families to relocate. They were taken in by the Red Cross. The SIM said the fire was put out by 9 a.m. Electricity in the sector was cut off as a safety measure, affecting several homes and businesses. Power has since been restored. The cause of the fire is unknown.
