Canada - 2 dead, 1 in critical condition as major fire burns in Old Montreal

[Happypetitvieux01]

2 dead, 1 in critical condition as major fire burns in Old Montreal

"A major fire burning in Old Montreal has left two people dead and one person in critical condition, according to Radio-Canada.

Montreal police have opened an investigation into the fire, which started around 2 a.m. in a three-storey building at the corner of Notre-Dame and Bonsecours streets.

Police say the fire may be suspicious in nature."
...
"Municipal tax records show the owner of the building is Émile-Haim Benamor, who also owned the building on Place D'Youville in Old Montreal where seven people died in March 2023. The restaurant located on the main floor of the building is owned by another person."
...
"A hostel called Le 402 is located on the second and third floors of the building. Photos of the hostel on booking websites show exposed brick walls, a shared lounge and rooms with a city view.

Some comments, however, describe the accommodations as crammed and rundown. Multiple reviewers also report bedrooms without windows or windows that wouldn't open."

BBM

 

[dotr]

Police find two bodies after Old Montreal fire, but number of dead remains unclear

Victims were a mother and her daughter, 7, media reports say as the blaze tore through the century-old building where a 20-room hostel is located.

montrealgazette.com

• Oct 04, 2024 • Last updated 9 minutes ago

2 dead, 1 in critical condition as major fire burns in Old Montreal | RCI

Radio-Canada reporting deaths as fire continues to burn in building on Notre-Dame Street

ici.radio-canada.ca

''Police say the fire may be suspicious in nature.
Jonathan Michaud of the Montreal fire department said the fire broke out on the main floor where a restaurant is located. He said the fire spread quickly.
The fire department has sent about 125 firefighters and 50 trucks to the scene.''

 

[Warwick1991]

I can't believe the same landlord is the owner of another building with what sounds like multiple code violations, resulting in yet another deadly fire. All his properties should be inspected.

 

[Happypetitvieux01]

Masked person seen breaking into Old Montreal building minutes before deadly fire

"Police say the fire, which started around 2 a.m. in the building at the corner of Notre-Dame and Bonsecours streets, is suspicious in nature. Security camera footage obtained by Radio-Canada shows a person breaking into the building minutes before the fire broke out."
...
"At a news conference Friday afternoon, police said they could not confirm the number of deaths as investigators didn't yet have access to the scene. Police said earlier that one person was in critical condition.

"Some fatalities are unfortunately expected," said Montreal police Insp. David Shane, adding police could also not yet confirm the number of people inside the building at the time of the fire."
...
"Martin Guilbault, a division chief with the Montreal fire department, told reporters that fire inspectors had visited the building in the spring of 2023 and had found an absence of fire alarms and smoke detectors, but on a new visit in the spring of 2024, those issues had been fixed.

"The building was compliant, according to our information," he said. However, he specified that inspectors had visited the address of the restaurant inside the building, but did not say if the inspection also included the hostel upstairs."

 

[Happypetitvieux01]

(Translated from Journal La Presse, October 4 2024)
Une auberge de jeunesse avec des chambres sans fenêtre
A hostel with windowless rooms

"The building that was engulfed in flames in Old Montreal on Thursday night housed a 19-room youth hostel on the upper floors, where several visitors reported staying in rooms without windows."
...
"The hostel is the subject of a very large amount of negative reviews on the rental booking platform. com, on the Expedia website and on Google."
...
"La Presse has counted about twenty guests of the inn who deplore having been housed in a room with no windows leading to the outside.

This is the case of Claudit Bilodeau, a resident of Chibougamau who stayed there for one night a month ago. "My room was like a broom closet where a bed had been placed," she said in a phone interview.

There were no windows to the outside, only a window to the common room, covered by a curtain. "The curtain fell several times, even during the night," she says. She had shared photos of the hostel on Facebook protesting against the uncleanliness of the place."

 

[dotr]

 

[Rikissa]

There was an other deadly fire in an Airbnb in Old Montreal a little more than 18 months ago, 16 March 2023.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/one-year-after-old-montreal-airbnb-fire-1.7142328

 

[dotr]

There was an other deadly fire in an Airbnb in Old Montreal a little more than 18 months ago, 16 March 2023.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/one-year-after-old-montreal-airbnb-fire-1.7142328

D

Thread 'Canada- 6 people missing, 9 injured, in blaze that destroyed heritage building in Old Montreal, 16 March 2023 *possible arson*'

Mar 18, 2023

Six missing after blaze destroyed Old Montreal building, fire officials say

Montreal fire officials now say at least six people are missing after a blaze destroyed a building in the city's historic district Thursday.

www.cp24.com

''Montreal fire officials now say at least six people are missing after a blaze destroyed a building in the city's historic district Thursday.

Investigators initially said one person was believed to be missing in the fire that also injured another nine people.

"The information confirmed in the last few hours, from various sources, allows us to believe that there may be victims inside the debris," Montreal fire operations chief Martin Guilbault said Saturday.''...

• dotr
• Replies: 42
• Forum: Rampage Killings and Terrorist Attacks

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[Happypetitvieux01]

Mother and daughter, 7, found dead after Old Montreal fire; public security minister to visit scene Saturday

"The two people who died in a major fire in Old Montreal on Friday were a mother and her seven-year-old daughter, sources told Noovo Info(opens in a new tab).

Both victims were French nationals, the sources said.

Montreal police have not released their identities as their investigation continues into what they described as a "suspicious" fire."

 

[Happypetitvieux01]

Victims in Old Montreal fire identified as mother and her 7-year-old daughter

"Montreal police have confirmed the two victims of a major building fire in Old Montreal on Friday are 43-year-old Léonor Geraudie and her seven-year-old daughter Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie, who were French nationals.

The pair were inside a three-storey, 100-year-old building on Notre-Dame Street, which housed a restaurant on the main floor and a hostel upstairs, when a fire broke out around 2:30 a.m.

At a news conference Saturday afternoon, Montreal police Insp. David Shane confirmed there were 25 people inside of the building at the time of the fire and 23 have been accounted for."
...
"At a news conference Saturday afternoon near the scene of the fire, Quebec Public Security Minister François Bonnardel said a public coroner's inquiry could be launched to shed light on the deadly fire and examine what could have been done to prevent the deaths.

He noted the possibility of merging it with the inquiry into the March 2023 fire, which has been delayed due to the ongoing criminal investigation.

"We will see how we could combine these two unfortunate events … in the same investigation so that we are able to speed up the process," he said.

Ron Karpman, a man who lives in the area and witnessed both Friday's building fire and the one on Place D'Youville, says he'd like to see more regulations to make these kinds of short-term units safer.

"I have no objection against Airbnbs and hostels being in the area, I just have concerns about them being adequately protected for the people that are staying in them," he said."

"For the moment, there is no indication of additional victims," Shane said, adding that investigations will ensure this is confirmed "beyond any doubt."

 

[LadyL]

so is it legal to rent out rooms with no windows? I thought it was illegal but this place passed inspection in the spring
and last time they were only cited for inadequate or missing fire alarms and smoke detectors

 

[Snoopster]

I happened to be in Montreal last week...and no doubt walked by that building. These landlords MUST be held to account. Get your act together Montreal and arrest the parties responsible!

 

[Snoopster]

Here is footage of the guy who likely started the fire...leaving the building.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/security-footage-old-montreal-1.7344386
LE, please find this guy and hang him up by the short hairs!
He's a murderer.

 

[Happypetitvieux01]

Quebec coroner orders public inquiry into Old Montreal fire that killed mother, daughter

"Quebec's chief coroner has ordered a public inquiry into the deaths of two people who died in a major fire in Old Montreal last week.

Coroner Reno Bernier ordered the inquiry at the request of Public Security Minister François Bonnardel.

Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie, who were French nationals, died inside a three-storey, 100-year-old building on Notre-Dame Street when a suspicious fire broke out early Friday morning.

The building housed a restaurant on the main floor and a hostel upstairs.

Coroner Géhane Kamel will preside over the inquiry, which will make recommendations, where appropriate, to prevent further deaths in similar circumstances.

Kamel is also overseeing the inquiry ordered into another fatal fire that killed seven people in Old Montreal in March 2023."

 

[LadyL]

so is it legal to rent out rooms with no windows? I thought it was illegal but this place passed inspection in the spring
and last time they were only cited for inadequate or missing fire alarms and smoke detectors

ok got my answer from the video - 'a window is not considered a means of escape'

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/security-footage-old-montreal-1.7344386

 

[Happypetitvieux01]

Gunshots hit Montreal building owned by man with two other properties hit by deadly fires

"Montreal police arrested three people, including two teenagers, after gunshots were fired Tuesday night at a building owned by a man with two properties targeted by deadly fires.

Police say gunfire hit the building in Old Montreal owned by Emile Benamor, the man who owns two other buildings in the district that were targeted since 2023 by alleged arson, leading to the deaths of nine people.

Benamor owns the Notre-Dame Street East building that went up in flames last Friday, claiming the lives of a mother and daughter from France."

 

[dotr]

2 people arrested in Old Montreal fire that killed mom, daughter | Globalnews.ca

Two people have been arrested in connection to a fire in Old Montreal that killed a mother and her daughter earlier this month.

globalnews.ca

'Two people have been arrested in connection to a fire in Old Montreal that killed a mother and her daughter earlier this month.''

'At a news conference, police said they arrested two people – an 18 and 20 year old. They alleged one suspect threw an incendiary device that sparked the fire, while the other way behind the wheel in a getaway car.'

 

[Happypetitvieux01]

Murder charges for two men in connection with Old Montreal fire

Two young men are facing second-degree murder charges in connection with the fatal fire in Old Montreal that killed Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her daughter Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie on Oct. 4.

montreal.ctvnews.ca

"Two men were charged with second-degree murder and arson on Saturday, a week after a fire ravaged an Old Montreal building, killing a mother and daughter from France.

The early morning blaze claimed the lives of Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter Vérane Reynaud Geraudie.

The fire erupted on the ground floor of the building and spread to the upper two levels which housed a hostel. Police have said 25 people were in the building at the time of the Oct. 4 fire, which injured three others.

Justin Fortier-Trahan, 20, and Juventino Hernandez Pelaez, 18, appeared in court Saturday charged in the deaths.

They also face a charge of arson causing bodily harm in connection to another man, and recklessly endangering life by damaging a property by fire or explosion."

 

[Happypetitvieux01]

Car set on fire at home of the owner of Old Montreal buildings where fatal fires occurred

"A car was deliberately set on fire in a driveway in Montreal's West Island early Thursday morning, and Radio-Canada is reporting that the home belongs to Émile Benamor, the landlord who owns two buildings in Old Montreal that were the site of two fatal fires.

According to Montreal police, officers responded to a call Thursday morning about a car being on fire in front of a home on Whitehead Terrasse near the corner of Lakeshore Drive in Dorval, Que. Police say a gas can was found next to the burning vehicle.

Radio-Canada says the property where the fire took place belongs to Benamor."
...
"Thursday's car fire in Dorval, Que., is the second criminal incident in a little over a week involving Benamor, who is also a lawyer. Last Tuesday, multiple bullets were fired at his office in Old Montreal."