An Afro-Caribbean restaurant in Notre Dame de Grace was gutted and a family of four is homeless following a five-alarm blaze Sunday morning.
The fire broke out in the basement of the building at 5866 Upper Lachine Rd. at Regent Ave. at 8 a.m. and quickly spread to Restaurant Sunset on the main floor and the two apartments upstairs.
One apartment was empty. The family of four in the other apartment is being cared for by the Red Cross. They were uninjured.
The fierce blaze was doused with the efforts of as many as 90 firefighters using 25 fire trucks, said Andre Paquette of the Montreal fire department.
One firefighter received a slight injury to his leg and was treated at the scene.
Next-door neighbour Ernie Nittolo alleges police had visited the restaurant Saturday evening, but the Montreal police department would not confirm that information.
"Police were called there last night for a party or something – too much noise. So I don't know what's going on. Maybe somebody left something burning, I don't know," said Nittolo.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
