Fires force evacuations in two residential buildings Sunday

A fire early Sunday in a two-storey residential building in the Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough forced one family to be evacuated, and another fire in Montreal North later on Sunday morning forced the evacuation of 33 people.

There were no injuries in either incident.

The Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve fire spread through the attic of a building at Beaubien St. and Rodolphe-Mathieu Ave., said Montreal fire department battalion chief Sylvain Granger. The building has four units.

The call came in at 1:21 a.m. and about 20 fire trucks and 55 firefighters were deployed; the fire was under control by 3:30 a.m., Granger said. A higher complement of firefighters is needed in extreme cold, he said, because their ventilation equipment is affected by the extreme temperatures and they need to be relieved by colleagues more often than they would be otherwise.

One unit in the building was heavily damaged, forcing the evacuation of one family; the Red Cross relocated them. No one was in the other units.

The cause of the fire is not yet known and will be investigated by the department, Granger said.

Later on Sunday morning, 33 people, one with reduced mobility, were evacuated when a fire was declared at 11:31 a.m. in a three-storey residential building at Beaucourt and Bonneville Sts. in the borough of Montreal North.

The fire, which was brought under control by more than 70 firefighters, started in one of the building’s 10 or 11 apartments, Granger said. The Red Cross took charge of those who were displaced.