MONTREAL - Fire tore through an 24-unit apartment building in Old Longueuil early Saturday, causing three to be brought to hospital and costing many others their homes.

As firefighters attempted to quell the inferno, a man in his thirties was stopped by firefighters trying to climb a ladder back into his apartment at 1150 Beauregard in an effort to save his pets as flames burst from out the balcony door.

Two people were sent to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and a firefighter was also treated for a minor injury to his ribs.

Yannick Raymond was inside the building at the time of the fire, which started at around 4 a.m., and he initially believed that it was a false alarm.

"Then somebody was running around screaming to get out of the building because the building was on fire. So, I just took my stuff went downstairs and I saw that apartment 24 was in flames," said tenant Yannick Raymond, who lived in the unit for about a year.

Raymond said he was not insured for the several thousands dollars of goods he lost in the incident.

Seventy firefighters needed three hours to bring the blaze under control.

The fire department says it had previously answered several alarms at this building with some of them smoke-related.

Some residents noted the absence of a new tenant, who was not around after the fire ignited in what is believed to be her unit.

"I just find it suspicious that people saw the tenant in the building and 15 minutes later, she's not there, nowhere to be seen. What happened?" asked Raymond.

He suspects that many of his neighbours were drinkers. "There's a lot of alcohol and stuff going on here."

One witness told CTV Montreal that a resident screamed out, "my cocaine is burning," as the fire blazed.

The building suffered about two million dollars worth of damages.

"I'd say maybe half of the building is a total loss," said Dennis Maher of Le Barricadeur.

The other half sustained plenty of smoke-related damage.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation by the Longueuil fire department.

Residents won't be allowed to pickup their belongings at least for a few days.

In another fire early Saturday morning, a 84-year-old man in Drummondville died after suffering burns at a fire in his home on Lindsay St.

His wife was also injured but medics do not fear for her life. The fire took place around 6 a.m.