Montreal police say a fire that forced 60 people from their homes in Pointe-Claire is suspicious.
The five-alarm fire broke out around 2 a.m. in a second-floor unit of the three-storey apartment building. The building at 495 Delmar is a total loss.
Police say they aren't sure what caused the fire but they said they were surprised at how quickly the flames reached the roof and how much damage was done in a few short minutes.
"It's where it started and how it started that our investigators (looked at). It didn't look like a normal cause," said Jean-Louis Bachand, chief of operations for the Montreal fire department.
Everyone evacuated safely because of fire alarms.
Victims
A man who was in another part of town when the fire struck, says he lost everything.
"I got a call about six in the morning, one of my friends heard on the news that the place was burning down," he said.
"I wasn't able to get in there to save anything. So now I'm assuming it's going to be quite rough with the water damage and everything."
People who needed a place to stay were taken to a nearby hotel. A number of the residents did not have insurance.
Victims were not able to enter the gutted and barricaded building on Friday, and it might have to be torn down.
