LONGUEUIL, Que. (CP) -- Freezing temperatures hampered firefighters Monday afternoon as they battled a blaze that destroyed 48 apartments in two buildings.
One firefighter was injured as crews spent hours trying to extinguish the fire amid -24C temperatures that froze hoses and respirators. It was the second serious fire near Montreal within three days.
About 50 residents of this community on the south shore of Montreal became homeless when the first building caught on fire. Flames spread early Monday evening to an adjacent building. No residents were reported injured.
Fire Capt. Daniel Dubois says not much will be salvageable in Monday's blaze.
``It happened very quickly for the members of our service,'' he told all-news channel LCN. ``So people were fleeing with the minimum of things on their backs and no personal effects.''
The cause of the fire hasn't been determined. It began around 3:30 p.m. in a basement laundry room and eventually spread to the roof, causing it to collapse. The second floor the adjacent building also collapsed after catching on fire.
Twenty families were also left homeless when a fire tore through two apartment buildings Friday evening north of the city. It began in the basement of one building and engulfed all four floors before spreading to an adjacent building.
The cause of the fire was likely a fryer left unattended on a stove top. No one was hurt in the fire.
