130 firefighters are battling a fire on The Plateau-Mont-Royal

GERARD LEGAULT/QMI AGENCY
Fire-fighters from the SIM have asked Hydro-Quebec to shut the power to make their job easier.

QMI agency

Sunday, 11 march, 2018 08:34

UPDATE
Sunday, 11 march, 2018 08:35

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A fire was kept in suspense about 130 firefighters, Sunday morning, in a building at the corner of Cherrier and St-Denis, Montreal.

The fire originated around 6: 30 p.m. in the basement of the three-storey building, which houses the restaurant Universal on the ground floor and housing on the 2nd and 3rd floors. A dozen residents had to be evacuated by firefighters.

“A person who was taken to the basement has been evacuated, with 10 other residents, said TVA’s New John Primiani, chief of operations for the Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal (SIM). No one was injured.”

The blaze has given a really hard time to firefighters, who sought always to master the last outbreaks of fire in the end of the morning. The sappers were first forced to retreat in front of the flames and to adopt a defensive strategy by watering copiously of the building, before they can return to the interior to tackle the remaining pockets of fire, summed up Mr. Primiani.

“It is a fire that is difficult to access, it is difficult with the ventilation, added Mr. Primiani. It is often the case with old buildings like this, they give us a lot of work when you try to run after the spread.”

The fire, which was first spread in the restaurant specialising in lunches and grilled food, then spread throughout the building, causing heavy damage. The building could possibly be considered a total loss, has intimated the chief operations.

Fire-fighters from the SIM have asked Hydro-Quebec to shut the power to make their job easier.