Firefighters have uncovered what they believe could have been a grow-op on the second floor of a commercial building that caught fire on Tuesday in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue in Montreal’s West Island.
READ MORE: Fire tears through popular restaurant in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
“There was a smell in the building so that’s why we said probably there are some plants under all the stuff from the roof that fell,” Benoît Martel, chief of operations with the Montreal fire department, told Global News.
“We don’t know the amount but we smelled it.”
The three-alarm blaze gutted Marco’s Restaurant, located at 82 Sainte-Anne St. The adjacent buildings were also evacuated.
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Mayor Paola Hawa told Global News on Tuesday that she had spoken to the restaurant’s owner and that he is devastated.
READ MORE: Dozens of families homeless after massive fire in Pierrefonds
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She notes there was a previous fire at the restaurant in 2009.
“He’s actually almost nauseous from this whole thing, just can’t believe this is happening again,” she said. “It’s a sad time for him.”
About 90 firefighters from across Montreal assisted in extinguishing the blaze.
READ MORE: Montreal police arson squad investigating fire at Côte-des-Neiges duplex
There were no reported injuries, but the building is a total loss.
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