Flames lit up the night sky as a violent fire tore through a tire warehouse in the St. Hubert borough of Longueuil Tuesday night.
About 75 firefighters battled the blaze, putting it under control.
The force of an explosion inside the building sent two of them to hospital to be treated for burns.
The injuries don’t seem to be too serious said Jean-Guy Ranger of the Longueuil fire department.
“They seemed to be burned first-degree burns,” he said.
The fire broke out at about 7 p.m. at Mécanique Élite at 3010 Losch Blvd. just after employees had gone home for the evening.
“I saw a big flame go up maybe 50 or 100 feet tall,” said witness Sarah Chatelois.
Firefighters said they had to quickly move from an offensive mode to defensive mode because of how aggressive this fire is, one that’s mainly fuelled by the tires inside the building.
The cause of the fire is so far unknown, but police say they have no reason to believe it is suspicious.
Meantime, no evacuation orders were called for neighbouring residents, and the smoke was not considered dangerous.
“Smoke is always toxic, but at this point there is no danger. We called Environment Quebec to make sure they're aware of what’s happening,” said Ranger.
Still, people living nearby were concerned.
“I was a bit worried, because it’s black, very thick, smoke… You're kind of aware of what you're inhaling, so it’s the reason why I came down to see and look closer,” said area resident Michel Desgagne.
