A firefighter battles a blaze in Old Montreal on Oct. 4. Montreal police spokesperson David Shane said in a news conference that a criminal investigation is under way.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
At least two people died in a fire Friday in an Old Montreal building with a history of safety issues, according to a police source. The incident is eerily reminiscent of a catastrophic blaze that killed seven people last year in another building owned by the same man in the same borough.
Montreal police spokesperson David Shane said in a news conference that a criminal investigation is under way. He did not confirm the number or identities of the dead, but said two people were injured, including one taken to hospital. Authorities were still trying to figure out how many people were in the building, he said.
“Some fatalities are unfortunately expected.”
A police source told The Globe and Mail that at least two people were dead and another was in critical condition. The Globe is not identifying the source because they were not authorized to give details on the fatalities.
The three-storey building at the corner of Notre-Dame East and Bonsecours is owned by Émile Benamor, city property-tax records show. Mr. Benamor is also the owner of the nearby heritage building that burned in March, 2023, in which seven people died.
The building in Friday’s blaze, built in 1923, was home to Le 402 hostel. Many online reviews for the hostel mention rooms without windows, among other issues. But fire department spokesman Martin Guilbault said in a news conference that there was no indication that any of the 19 rooms in the building were without windows.
When Mr. Benamor was reached on his cellphone for comment, he asked who was calling, and immediately hung up. Alexandre Bergevin, Mr. Benamor’s lawyer, said in an interview that there was no safety issue with the building and that it was rented to the company operating the Le 402 hostel. “Mr. Benamor has nothing to do with the operation” of the building, Mr. Bergevin said.
On Friday, emergency services received several calls about the fire around 2:40 a.m. Security-camera footage obtained by Radio-Canada show a man wearing a black hoodie forcing his way into the building shortly before the start of the blaze.
Firefighters were still at work on the building’s roof in the afternoon as smoke lingered in the air.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante toured the scene and made a brief statement to reporters Friday afternoon. “Of course, we are shaken,” she said, adding that there were many similarities with the 2023 fire a few blocks away. Ms. Plante emphasized the work done by the fire department since then and declined to take any questions.
Municipal councillor Abdelhaq Sari, the vice-chair of Montreal’s public-security commission and member of the opposition at city hall, said Montrealers have reason to be worried.
“A year and a half after the Place D’Youville fire … we are facing the same questions,” Mr. Sari told reporters on the scene. “We don’t have any answers.”
Anthony Chang was staying in a third-floor room of the hostel with his girlfriend, Marta Cari, on a visit to Montreal for the weekend. They were awakened in the middle of the night by the fire alarm.
“At first, we thought it was something small, like nothing serious,” Mr. Chang said in an interview. “After maybe 30 seconds or one minute, I went out of the room to check what was going on, and I smelled the smoke, and maybe gas,” he said.
The young couple from Toronto were able to exit easily, Mr. Chang said, but they left their luggage behind. “Everything is gone,” he said. “It’s terrible.”
Documents obtained through access to information requests with the City of Montreal show that the building had more than a dozen non-compliances identified by fire department inspectors in September of 2020. Inspectors listed issues related to the building’s fire-alarm systems, smoke detectors, sprinklers, fire extinguishers, firewalls and means of evacuation.
The most recent inspections recorded in the files occurred in April, 2023, but it is unclear from the reports whether any of the non-compliances were ever corrected.
Municipal court records show a single case opened against Mr. Benamor for this building, relating to deficient means of evacuation noted in August, 2020. Mr. Benamor was acquitted in 2022.
Mr. Guilbault, the fire department spokesman, said formal notices were also sent to Mr. Benamor in the spring of 2023, regarding the absence of smoke alarms and a fire-alarm system. He said that as of spring 2024, the issues had been corrected and that the building was considered safe.
According to documents released by the Quebec Ministry of Tourism through access to information requests in July and last year, Le 402 is managed by Neir Abissidan. Mr. Abissidan did not immediately reply to requests for comment sent by e-mail.
The building owned by Mr. Benamor that burned in 2023 was filled with illegal Airbnbs. Previous guests had also noted the lack of windows in at least one room in that building.
Fire-inspection records showed many persisting safety issues relating to means of evacuation and alarm systems, among others, at that building. But, as uncovered by The Globe, the Montreal fire department did little to force compliance because of a lax enforcement policy on such safety issues. The policy was repealed after the fatal fire and The Globe’s reporting, which triggered official investigations into the department’s deficient prevention methods.
That fire was ruled criminal by Montreal police, who said in an unsigned e-mail Friday that they submitted a report to the Crown prosecutor for analysis.
Annabelle Sheppard, a spokesperson for the Quebec Crown prosecutor, said in an e-mail Friday that no charges have yet been laid.