Fire breaks out in a building in Old Montreal

Montreal police (SPVM) have confirmed that two bodies were recovered from the rubble after a fire tore through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning. Police have not ruled out the possibility of finding more victims.

The two victims have not been identified, according to the SPVM. 

IN PHOTOS: Major fire breaks out in Old Montreal

The five-alarm fire started on the ground floor of a three-storey building at 400 Notre-Dame St. East near Bonsecours Street. The Montreal police service (SPVM) said at a news conference that the cause of the fire is unknown but said it was "of suspicious origin."

A four-storey building with a wine bar on the ground floor was engulfed in flames in the historic Old Montreal neighbourhood on Oct. 4, 2024. (Julia Guo Mailhot)

Police, who are leading the investigation since there are fatalities, haven't been able to access the scene since the fire was still not under control at the time of the press briefing at 2:30 p.m.

The SPVM has set up a dedicated helpline for anyone who believes they had friends or loved ones staying in the building. They can call 514-280-1294.

Officials say at least two people were injured in the fire, including one who was sent to hospital in critical condition. The state of the person's condition is not known.

Multiple dwellings were evacuated and the Red Cross was called to care for those forced from the buildings.

At least three people have been injured after a fire broke out in the Old Montreal area on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (Source: Julia Guo Mailhot)

Building owner also owned building in deadly 2023 fire

According to the City of Montreal property records, the building was built in 1923 and is owned by Emile Benamor, who also owned the nearby heritage building on Place D'Youville that was destroyed by fire in March 2023. Montreal police have deemed that fire, which killed seven people, to be criminal but no charges have been laid.

Insp. David Shane told reporters on Friday that the results of the 2023 investigation have been handed over to the Quebec Crown prosecution office for review. A spokesperson for the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP) said no charges have yet been laid in that case.

Benamor's office said he was unavailable when reached by phone on Friday and referred CTV News to his lawyer, Alexandre Bergevin, who did not respond to requests for comment.

At around 2:30 a.m. on Friday morning, Amanda Kozutsky, who is an employee of Benamor, was awoken from her stay in the building by a fire alarm.

She rushed from the building, unable to collect anything she brought with her.

"All of the belongings I brought with me were destroyed tonight in the fire," she posted on X.

She said she booked the room on a vacation rental site for 402 Notre-Dame, which was listed on the Booking.com rental site. The building has a wine bar, Loam, on the main floor, and a 19-room hotel on the second and third floors.

CTV News spoke with Airbnb and confirmed that there are no Airbnb listings on that block.

Hostel guests raise safety concerns

Varina Crisfield said she stayed at a hostel at 402 Notre-Dame in March 2024 after responding to a listing on a third-party rental website, but felt so unsafe that she only stayed there one night even though she paid for two.

"The door and the lock felt flimsy in the room. My room also had a smoke detector mount but no smoke detector," she told CTV News.

"I think that the ad mentioned the kitchen, but the kitchen area was just basically like a toaster, a sink, a microwave in a small corner. And there's also an electrical panel in that corner that basically had a rat's nest of wire sticking out of it, just a whole bunch of wires coming right out of the panel."

"After one night, just every instinct in my body told me to get out of there. And you know, I remember the fire from last year in Montreal in the Airbnb in the Old Port," she added. "Like, it felt like the same kind of thing could happen in this place."

The Loam wine bar in Old Montreal was completely destroyed in a fire on Oct. 4, 2024. (Julia Guo Mailhot)

She said it was "horrifying" to learn this morning that the building was destroyed by a fire.

"I'm really, really sad to hear that two people so far have died," she said. "That's really awful."

She identified to CTV News photos of the same room she stayed in on the Booking.com website. The site contains multiple reviews raising safety concerns, including recent allegations that some rooms had no windows and lacked smoke alarms.

"A health and safety disaster," one guest wrote in a review on Sept. 17, 2024.

Another one wrote on Sept. 22 that "there is no window and no working ventilation, which results in a very warm and uncomfortable room."

At least two reviews allege there were no smoke alarms in the rooms.

Building deemed ‘safe,’ fire official says

However, Martin Guilbault, division chief of the Montreal fire service, Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal (SIM), said Friday the owner of the building was sent a formal notice of non-compliance in spring 2023 after it was deemed to violating fire safety codes for "the absence of a fire alarm system and the absence of smoke alarms." In spring 2024, all of the non-compliance issues had been "rectified," Guilbault said, telling reporters that the building was deemed "safe."

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante made note of the fact that the owner of the building is the same person who owns the building that burned down in 2023. "The second element that is similar is that the police think there's going to be a criminal investigation being done," she said, adding that she wants to let the police do their investigation to find out what led to the fire.

On X, she said the latest fire was "horrible news," adding, "I send my deepest sympathies to all those affected."

With files from CTV News Montreal's Matt Gilmour, Noovo Info, and The Canadian Press