A 100-year-old home in Ste. Anne de Bellevue was gutted Sunday morning by an overnight fire, leaving eight residents homeless.
The fire started on the second-storey balcony of an apartment in the semi-detached complex at St. Antoine St. and Ste. Hyacinthe St. at 2:30 a.m. and quickly spread to neighbouring apartments because there was no fire wall between the residences, said officials from the Montreal fire department. No one was injured.
About 80 firefighters were called to the scene, where it took two and a half hours to quell the flames. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
Damage to the building may top $250,000 said fire officials. Some of the tenants were not insured and will need to depend on assistance from the Red Cross.
Michel Papric, who owns the building and was out of town at the time of the blaze, said he lost almost everything he owns.
"I don't know what to do. We'll see if my insurance thinks it's worth it to rebuild," said Papric.
The destruction of a century-old home has left some local residents feeling a sense of loss.
"This house was over 100 years old, so I don't think it will be replaceable. It's another part of architecture that has disappeared through time," said a neighbour.
Ste. Anne de Bellevue Mayor Bill Tierney said the damage could have been prevented if the small west island town had not lost control of its fire department during the Montreal city merger.
"It would be nice, I think, if we could do more prevention. Fire prevention is something we've missed since the Montreal firemen took over," said Tierney.
In June, a major fire razed several buildings in Ste. Anne de Bellevue after flames quickly spread through a bar, homes and a courtyard where several cars were destroyed.
