(Montreal) An arson fire damaged a commercial and residential building on Bernard Avenue, in the Mile End district, in central Montreal early Monday.
No one was injured in the fire, but the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) reported that six residents on an upper floor of the building had to be evacuated. No one was arrested.
It was a call to the 911 emergency telephone center around 3:45 a.m. that alerted the authorities. The SPVM was informed that a person was seen throwing an incendiary object into the restaurant on the ground floor before fleeing the scene, just before the first flames rose.
After firefighters from the Montreal Fire Department (SIM) extinguished the fire, a security perimeter was erected by SPVM police officers, near the intersection of Avenue de l’Esplanade. Investigators were expected to interview witnesses, meet with the restaurant owner and search for surveillance cameras in hopes of obtaining footage that could help their investigation.