Montreal Street fire leaves several displaced

Kingston fire and rescue were called to a house fire on Montreal Street just before 3 a.m. this morning.

More than three fire trucks were called to the scene to help dowse the flames near Hickson Avenue. Montreal Street was closed for several hours as crews fought the blaze.

Fire Inspector, Clinton Debroy with Kingston Fire & Rescue says when fire crews arrived on scene, the 3-storey building was full involved.

“We did see flames from the north side as well as I saw it coming through the attic space. It did extend throughout the building.”

Clinton confirmed on Tuesday that the cause of the fire was accidental, and it was probable that a candle was the source of the ignition.

All residents from the home at 768 Montreal Street, which is split into at least four units, were evacuated. There are differing reports of the number of residents in the home, but Kingston Fire said at least two couples were living in the residence.

Eric Moore lives in the lower apartment and says he was relaxing, when he suddenly smelled smoke and came outside.

“When I saw the roof, it was nasty.”

The damage to the home is at least $500,000, according to Kingston Fire.

The home now has a large hole in the roof and one side of the house and the back of the building were severely damaged. None of the surrounding homes were damaged by the flames.

All pets were evacuated, including a dog, a kitten and a hamster named Ted. Melissa Dumbieton whose brother-in-law lives in the building says they were amazed the little guy survived.

“We later found out, he was alive and just swimming around in the bottom of his cage, even though he was right in the middle of the blaze. So it’s amazing that he’s alive, the firefighters rescued him.”

According to a tweet from Dominic Owens, owner of First Response Media, firefighters were “overjoyed” to see that Ted had survived, and some were seen petting him.