Nearly 20 Montrealers are homeless following two fires in the Plateau and Lachine.
In Plateau Mont-Royal, a blaze broke out at 10:30 p.m. on the top floor of a three-storey apartment building at 3419 Laval Ave., sending two people to hospital.
One resident suffered burns to his hands, while a firefighter received burns to his neck, said officials. Neither injury is serious.
As many as 100 firefighters responded to the five-alarm blaze, but the eight to ten tenants have been forced to evacuate.
The Montreal fire department is investigating.
In Lachine, seven people escaped a blaze that broke out just before 4 a.m. in a two-storey, four-unit apartment building on Richmond St. near Highway 20.
No one was injured, but it is believed a dog died in the fire, which was so intense it peeled the siding off the walls.
The fire is considered suspicious and is under investigation by the Montreal police arson squad.
Building owner Constantine Cherrkasky was in the midst of renovating one of the suites, and said he was simply happy his tenants escaped without injury.
"The only worry I had is my tenants because they're very, very, very nice people," he said. "My first thing is to give them back money, give them back cash, because some of them were coming out without pants."
The cause in both fires has yet to be determined.
