Three firefighters and one police officer suffered minor injuries while fighting a five-alarm fire in Saint-Hubert Monday evening.
Longueuil emergency services received a call about the fire at a 24-unit apartment building on Élie Street at 6:15 p.m.
READ MORE: Saint-Hubert man in hospital after residential fire
The fire started in the kitchen of a first-floor unit and the flames quickly engulfed the three-storey building.
Over 110 firefighters were called to battle the blaze in below freezing temperatures, including crews from neighbouring cities such as Montreal, Chambly and La Prairie.
“Three firefighters and one police officer were treated for concussions after a pipe burst on them,” said Longueuil fire department spokesperson Mario Martin.
“They were released from hospital earlier this morning.”
No residents were injured, but the building was destroyed. Damage is estimated at $2.5 million.
Roughly 60 residents were left homeless. Some have found shelter with family and friends while others were being assisted by the Canadian Red Cross.
Red Cross spokesman Carl Boisvert said 26 have been taken in by the aid organization and offered food, shelter and clothing for the next three days.
“Also moral support, because we know people affected by the disaster are upset,” Boisvert said Tuesday. “So the volunteers were there to give them moral support and to answer their basic needs.”
Boisvert said their situations will be reassessed in 72 hours and that that no one will end up on the street.
He said Red Cross volunteers have been increasingly in demand as the deep freeze following the holidays has coincided with a spate of blazes in different parts of the province.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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