The Montreal Fire Department (SIM) raised its maximum alarm level Thursday morning for a fire at the corner of Saint-Urbain Street and Laurier Avenue. No injuries are to be deplored, the fire was quickly contained, but more than a hundred firefighters were mobilized due to the oppressive heat.
The fire started on the back balcony of a commercial and residential building in Mile-End around 8:40 a.m. Nothing suggests so far that it is an arson attack.
All residents were evacuated smoothly. The Red Cross took charge of five victims so that they could find new accommodation.
The maximum alarm was triggered by the SIM to fight the fire, which implies the mobilization of a maximum of firefighters. Nearly 150 firefighters and 50 vehicles were dispatched to the scene.
Photo: Jacques Nadeau Le Devoir
It was not the “vigor” of the fire that forced the maximum alarm, according to SIM section chief Robert Rousseau, but the need to have enough firefighters to rotate due to the heat overwhelming.
Heat wave
It was not the “force” of the fire that forced this maximum alarm, according to the SIM section chief, Robert Rousseau. “It allows us to have enough staff to ensure the rotation of firefighters who fight the fire”, when a heat wave fills the metropolis. Three of his teammates were also treated for heatstroke without needing to be taken to hospital.
The thermometer showed 30°C in Montreal on Thursday morning.
Major mobilization of firefighters in Montreal for a minor fire. The ambient heat forces a “rotation” of the speakers. 3 heat strokes among the first responders. pic.twitter.com/El1uOwV9qN
— Jean Louis Bordeleau (@JLBordeleau) June 1, 2023
Many firefighters were resting in the shade and doused themselves with cool water after visibly battling the flames as the Duty at the scene of the fire.
No more smoke was emerging from the three-story building around 11 a.m. and the fire was under control.
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