Watch above: Firefighters rush to a fire in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and discover that the building was not properly equipped with smoke alarms.
MONTREAL – 20 people have been forced from their homes after a fire engulfed an apartment building in Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
At 3:15 a.m., firefighters were called to the building, which is located on De Rouen street near Dézéry street.
According to the Montreal Fire Department, the complex was not properly equipped with smoke alarms.
Firefighters were only alerted to the situation after a resident who smelled smoke called 911.
When they arrived on the scene just a few minutes later, the blaze was overwhelming the back of the three-storey building.
One person was stuck inside on one of the building’s higher floors and had to be taken down by firefighters on a ladder.
Ten people were housed overnight by the Red Cross.
Damage to the building will most likely be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, said Benoit Brouillard, Chief of the Montreal Fire Department.
Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire, but Brouillard believes it may have started on the second floor, most likely in a kitchen at the back of the building.
There were no injuries.
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