One person is dead and seven people were transported to hospital after a five-alarm fire swept through a low-income housing building in Montreal on Sunday morning.
Authorities say the death of the one victim, a woman whose age was not provided, was declared at the scene. The cause of her death has not yet been established.
A spokesman for the Urgences-santé ambulance service says it received a call at about 9:20 a.m. and sent five ambulances to the building in the city’s Sud-Ouest area.
Urgences-santé said that as of 10:45 a.m. there were 13 people being treated by paramedics at the scene for conditions including smoke inhalation or fatigue.
Hours later officials confirmed that one victim had died and seven others were brought to hospital.
The address of the building is described on a Montreal government website as a 105-unit building that houses mainly low-income seniors.
Premier François Legault tweeted his condolences to the family of the victim, and added that the ministers in charge of seniors and of housing would work to find new homes for the residents.
Dominique Anglade, head of the provincial Liberal party and legislature member for the riding, also expressed sadness at the event.
“This morning, a person died in the fire that raged in my riding,” she wrote on Twitter.“My condolences to the loved ones but also to the residents who are especially shaken by what is happening.”
The fire department first tweeted about the fire shortly after 9 a.m., asking people to avoid the area.
A spokesperson for the Montreal police said the force’s arson unit was called to investigate the incident but that the fire likely started by accident. Authorities say the cause of the fire remains unknown.
–with files from the Canadian Press
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