The Montreal police arson squad is investigating a suspicious fire that broke out overnight at a daycare in Pierrefonds.
Petit Castel daycare, located in a two-storey building on Gouin Boulevard on the West Island, sustained major damages in the fire.
No injuries were reported, although about 70 children are now without a daycare.
"There's nothing left, it's crazy," daycare worker Janelle Lafreniere told CTV Montreal's Annie Demelt.
"I didn't think it would be that bad… all the staff and families that needed the daycare, and now there is nothing."
A Pierrefonds city councillor said they are looking for a temporary place to hold the daycare while a permanent solution is worked out.
"We have 3 community centers," borough councillor Christian Dubois said. "They're not all free of course because of courses, but we'll have to see of there's anything we can do to try to help."
Authorities believe the fire started at the front of the building at around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, and quickly spread to the second story and roof.
Close to 100 firefighters were called to the scene to put out the fire.
The cause of the fire remains a mystery, and while no evidence of arson was found on the scene, the rapid speed with which the blaze consumed the two-storey building is what led the Montreal fire department to become suspicious and hand the file over to the arson squad.
"The first team on the scene saw a major fire," said the fire department's chief of operations, Jean Leblanc. "Normally that's not a situation we see when we arrive three minutes after a call. We (already) had a major blaze on our arrival."
The day care centre's director says that while the building was insured, there is no way of knowing if the building is salvageable and when - or if - the day care will open again.
