A building with a total of 32 housing units was engulfed in flames late Wednesday afternoon in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
The flames started in the building late in the afternoon and probably spread into the attic, explained Patrice Demers, operations manager for the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Fire Safety Service.
The blaze caused a huge plume of smoke visible for miles around.
Despite the scale of the disaster, no one was injured, but everything indicated that dozens of citizens will have to find a way to find new housing.
A general alarm was triggered by the firefighters to combat the fire, with the support of firefighters from five surrounding towns.