WATCH ABOVE: Aftermath footage of firefighters responding to Montreal building fire.
MONTREAL – Authorities say five people are injured, two of them critically, after a possible explosion in an apartment building in Montreal’s Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie borough Sunday.
At 11:53 p.m., firefighters were alerted to the scene of a 50-unit boarding house at 1460 Bélanger street between Garnier and Fabre streets.
“My janitor called me around 12 o’clock that there is an explosion in the building,” said Shailesh Badel, the building’s manager.
The explosion blew out the building’s windows.
“When our first unit arrived on the scene, a kid of panic was going on, people were scrambling out of the building,” said Luc Galarneau, Montreal fire department’s Chief of Operations.
Two men in their 50s were taken to hospital with first and second degree burns on roughly 80 per cent of their bodies, but they did not suffer any impact wounds, which are typical in explosions.
“When our paramedics arrived on the scene, the fire had already taken out two victims from the apartment,” said Robert Lamle, a spokesperson for Urgences Santé.
“Both have been transported to hospital where their condition can be considered critical.”
A third victim suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation and was taken to hospital.
Paramedics evaluated three others on the scene.
“They were treated for very minor, small burns and they refused transport to hospital,” said Lamle.
Watch below: Firefighters battled a four-alarm blaze after an explosion in Montreal’s Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie borough
A firefighter also suffered minor injuries, but was not taken to hospital.
Roughly 100 firefighters were on scene, as well as police and paramedics.
Lamle admits first responders had some difficulty getting to the scene because of major street closures due to the Montreal marathon.
“It posed some problems in terms of placement of our vehicles,” he said.
“It’s been a busy day. It’s been a hectic day.”
Firefighters were able to extinguish the four-alarm blaze shortly after the explosion.
Police have cordoned off the area and experts assessed the building to make sure it remained stable.
Officers evacuated several nearby buildings and worked to control the crowd, according to Montreal police spokeswoman Lynn Duncan.
A preliminary investigation by firefighters indicates there was an explosion near a ground-floor staircase.
Police say there’s no evidence at this time of any foul play.
*with files from the Canadian Press
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