One person is dead in a major fire that erupted on the Metropolitan near Lajeunesse Blvd. Tuesday afternoon.

Montreal firefighters say a 53-foot tanker truck carrying dangerous materials exploded around 4 p.m. after a collision with three cars and another truck.

“I was in my home and I heard a big boom and then everything moved in my apartment. Then I saw flames and smoke. It was higher than the FTQ building. People were screaming and running,” said witness Jim Freeman.

The truck driver, a man in his 40s, was inside the cab at the time of the explosion, the Surete du Quebec confirmed.

In a video taken from the 17th floor of the nearby FTQ-Construction building, a man driving the second truck can be seen trying to open the doors of each side of the cab before running away from the quickly spreading flames.

Urgences Sante spokesperson Jean-Francois Cornel confirmed that two people were treated for upper body injuries and transported to hospital and three people were treated for shock at the scene.

"There was a victim, but because of the strength of the fire, it could have been worse," said Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre. “Our first thoughts are for the victim and the family and those who have been injured, but I think that our firemen and women and our police force and our officials did a tremendous job and I think we have to pay tribute for them.”

Massive plumes of thick smoke and flames could be seen in the area and for kilometres beyond.

Highway 40 is closed in both directions between St. Laurent Blvd. and Christoph-Colomb Ave. and will remain closed Wednesday morning.

Drivers should continue to avoid the area, and opt for public transit instead. The STM will be sendin gout extra bus and metro cars in the morning.

Those who drive and are being asked to detour via:

  • Henri-Bourassa, Cote-Vertu and Sauvé to the north
  • Jean-Talon and Jarry to the south
  • Christophe-Colomb and Papineau to the east
  • de l’Acadie and St. Laurent to the west


The tanker truck was owned by a small l'Assomption company called EGGR, which specializes in transporting gas.

Montreal police say they helped some people stuck on the elevated roadway to exit their cars safely.

As many as 100 firefighters used foam and water to extinguish the violent blaze, which they got under control after battling for an hour.

Firefighters were not immediately able to access the vehicles due to how massive and hot a fire it became.

“For now we have a lot of damage, material damage, we have a dead person and we need to get all the information to complete our investigation,” said Chief inspector Jimmy Potvin.

Montreal police established a perimeter given the possible toxicity of the fire.



photo: Twitter / Alexandre Leduc

Civil engineers from Transport Quebec will be inspecting the integrity of the overpass to determine if the 60-year-old structure is sound. The inspection will begin as soon as firefighters complete their work on the overpass.

"As a reaction of this situation, I feel secure. We have tremendous people who are working greatly," said Coderre, in a joint news conference with local and provincial officials. "We are not the experts, we will let them do their jobs."

Transport Minister Jacques Daoust added that commuters who typically take that route may want to consider another option in the morning. Transport Quebec said as many as 200,000 cars travel over the Met every day. They are advising commuters to use the STM instead.

"Our specialists will make that evaluation overnight and tomorrow morning... those that usually use that route for work might not be able to take that route," he said, adding that it is so far unclear how quickly inspectors will complete their work. “It might take a month, it might take two weeks it might take two hours. we don't know yet. But tomorrow we'll know more.”



photo: Pierre-Marc Gervais

Cremazie Metro was closed for a time -- trains were not stopping at this station for several hours and passengers were told to use neighbouring stations instead. It reopened around 6:30 p.m.

Nearby buildings were evacuated. The City of Montreal reported damage to the FTQ building, as well as a Caisse Desjardins nearby.



photo: Emilio Komaromy