Police ID mom, daughter killed in Old Montreal; video shows person break into building before fatal fire

Police released the identities of the mother and daughter who were killed after a fire tore through a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal on Friday.

The victims are Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter, Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie. Both were French nationals.

Their bodies were pulled from the rubble in the three-storey building and identified by Coroner Géhane Kamel.

Montreal police (SPVM) held a press conference Saturday afternoon, hours after a video surfaced showing a person dressed in black clothing appearing to break into the building at the corner of Notre-Dame Street East and Bonsecours Street in the city's historic district.

A screenshot of a surveillance video obtained by Noovo Info showing an individual leave a building at Notre-Dame St. East and Bonsecours Street in Old Montreal after breaking into it. (Source: Noovo Info)

The surveillance video, obtained by Noovo Info, shows the individual kicking down the door at the front entrance and then leaving moments later as smoke appears to come out of the entrance. The person then flees on foot.

Insp. David Shane told reporters Saturday that the SPVM would not release any information about the possible cause of the fire or details of a possible suspect "in order not to hinder the investigation," led by the major crime unit and the arson section.

"We understand the public interest and the emotion aroused by this tragedy. Unfortunately, this is leading some people to want to conduct the investigation in the public arena, which is undesirable because it jeopardizes the investigation," Shane said.

"Let the investigators do their job and maximize their chances of success so that we can bring justice to Madame Geraudie and her daughter."

Same building owner involved in 2023 fire

At the time of the fire, there were 25 people inside the building, which housed a wine bar on the ground floor and a 19-room hostel on the upper floors. All survivors have been accounted for and police do not expect to find additional victims, though the search is continuing to rule anything out.

The fire is reminiscent of another fire in the same neighbourhood in March 2023, when a building that was used for short-term rentals went up in flames, killing seven people. The owner of that building is Emile Benamor, the same owner of the building that was on fire Friday morning.

A fire department official said at a news conference that the building was cited for fire code violations that were "rectified" in the spring of this year. The fire safety issues included "the absence of a fire alarm system and the absence of smoke alarms," Martin Guilbault, division chief of the Montreal fire service, told reporters at a news conference.

Shane told reporters on Friday that the results of the 2023 investigation have been handed over to the Quebec Crown prosecution office for review, but no charges have yet been laid in that case.

Benamor did not respond to requests for comment on Friday. However, he released a statement Saturday through his lawyer.

"It is with shock that we have learned of the tragic deaths of certain people or their disappearance. Please accept my most sincere condolences. Any information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects or to an understanding of the cause of this criminal act must be shared with the police authorities in order to prevent a recurrence," the statement reads.

A previous guest who booked a room on the upper level of the building in March 2024 and several online reviews on Booking.com raised some safety concerns with the accommodation during their stay.

Varina Crisfield said she stayed at a hostel at 402 Notre-Dame in March 2024 after responding to a listing on a third-party vacation website, but felt so unsafe that she only stayed there one night even though she paid for two.

"The door and the lock felt flimsy in the room. My room also had a smoke detector mount but no smoke detector," she said in an interview Friday.

"I think that the ad mentioned the kitchen, but the kitchen area was just basically like a toaster, a sink, a microwave in a small corner. And there's also an electrical panel in that corner that basically had a rat's nest of wire sticking out of it, just a whole bunch of wires coming right out of the panel."

"After one night, just every instinct in my body told me to get out of there. And you know, I remember the fire from last year in Montreal in the Airbnb in the Old Port," she added. "Like, it felt like the same kind of thing could happen in this place."

At least two online reviews allege there were no smoke alarms in the rooms.

Sprinklers not required in building: fire official

Guilbault said at the press conference on Saturday, "We are not in a position to confirm that the fire alarm system worked that night."

He also addressed concerns about windows, saying they are not considered a means of escape and that, in this case, "it was not an issue."

He also said the Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal got confirmation on Sept. 20 that sprinklers were not required in this building and were not installed.

Quebec's public security minister, François Bonnardel, visited the area Saturday to meet with first responders. He told a news conference that the coroner investigation into the fire could be combined with the one 18 months ago. 

"My office spoke to the chief coroner [Reno] Bernier this morning Saturday. We will see how we could combine these two unfortunate events in the same investigation to speed up the process," Bonnardel said.

The building was built in 1864 by businessman and politician Alexandre-Maurice Delisle. It's a registered heritage site and was used as a warehouse that included a grocery store.

Heritage Montreal worked out of the building for about 12 years. Policy Director Dinu Bumbaru says it has always been a vibrant building and losing it this way is a major blow.

"It's a wonderful building, not very sophisticated in terms of ornament, but that's not the important thing with it. It's a very significant heritage building," Dinu said.

"In 1981, we opened our first offices and they were in that building in 406 Notre-Dame East. That was in 1981 and we stayed there until 1993 so it was quite a chunk of history in the organization."

With files from CTV Montreal's Matt Grillo, Noovo Info and The Canadian Press