Montreal firefighters battle 2 separate blazes in Sud-Ouest borough Friday morning

Montreal firefighters (SIM) battled two separate blazes in the city’s Sud-Ouest borough on Friday morning and for now, they say nothing leads them to believe the blazes are connected. By afternoon, the initial fire was transferred to the Montreal police’s (SPVM) arson squad for further investigation.

The first 911 call came in at 1:10 a.m. about the three-alarm fire at a building on Hadley Street near Cardinal Street, where 80 firefighters made their way to the premises.

The building was vacant as it was under renovation due to another fire at the end of June. However, the neighbouring buildings had to be evacuated explained the SIM.

“At 1:53 a.m. this morning, I was woken up by a big boom. So I ran out to see it. There was a fire started,” said Matthew Sernuck, a resident of the area.

“Nobody got hurt,” said Patrick Fournel, a SIM fire chief who was at the scene this morning. “We had to relocate four families with the Red Cross.”

“It feels unsafe in the area,” said Sernuck.

“It was pretty impressive, honestly. By the time we realized it, the fire was already pretty far along. The flames had pretty much taken over the whole building,” explained Catherine Harton, who lives nearby.

Firefighters were then called just before 8 a.m., to another three-alarm fire in the Sud-Ouest borough on Wellington Street near de la Sucrerie Street.

As of 10 a.m. on Friday, over 80 firefighters were still on the scene battling the flames of the three-storey residential building.

No damages were caused to the adjacent buildings, the SIM explained.

“About 15 people have been evacuated,” SIM spokesperson, Émilie Barbeau-Charlebois, told CityNews. “One person had to be transported to hospital for smoke inhalation.”

“There is no information at this time that suggests there may be a link between the two fires,” she added.

“I was sleeping and I had a phone call telling me that there was a lot of action going on in the front. So I just decided to come. All I see is all full of trucks and stuff,” said Yvon Arsenault.

The SIM is reminding Montrealers that it is fire prevention week, they’re asking residence to check their smoke detector and make sure it’s working.

“I checked this morning and realized I didn’t have a smoke detector. That’s when I realized I had taken it for granted. It definitely puts us in a state of hypervigilance, but at least I’m glad to know it’s making me double-check my things and make sure my home is safe,” said Harton.