LaSalle apartment building evacuated after fire

About 30 Montreal firefighters responded to an apartment fire in the borough of LaSalle at around 3:50 a.m. Monday.

Though the fire was extinguished within a couple hours, thefive-unit apartment building at the corner of Serge and Denise streetswas damaged extensively and nobody will be allowed to return home any time soon, according to MarioDrolet, chief of operations with the Montreal fire department.

There were no injuries reported, he said. The fireoriginatedin a basement garage, he added, causingabout $150,000 in damage.

Firefighters, who cut electricity to the building for safety reasons,were still sifting through the debris in search of fire's precise cause as the sun rose over the city.

Bar fire prompts arson investigation

Earlier in the night, the Montreal police department was notified of an alarm being triggered in a business located on de MaisonneuveBoulevard West, near Peel at 2:20 a.m.

When police arrived, they discovered there was a fire burning and quickly called the fire department.

Firefighters extinguished the flames and found evidence that an accelerant was used to start the fire in the downtown bar.

"At this moment, we don't have any suspects in this case, so an investigation will probably give us
some more information if video surveillance did catchthose possible suspects or the suspect on tape," said Montreal police spokesperson Const. Raphal Bergeron.

The investigation has since been turned over to the police department's arson squad.