Firefighters take to downtown as blaze breaks out at St. Catherine Street building
Montreal firefighters have taken to the scene of downtown Montreal where a major fire has broken out at a building on the corner of Berri and St. Catherine.
The building is home to Le Devoir, a French-language newspaper.
The fire began at approximately 5:40 pm, says CTV. Montreal Fire Services were quickly rushed to the scene as they declared the incident as a three-alarm, then four-alarm fire and warned of a possible power outage.
Incendie à l’édifice du @LeDevoir, les pompiers semblent avoir maîtrisé le brasier sur le toit. Toute la salle de rédaction a été évacuée pic.twitter.com/R63u4I0N5X
— Karl R-Parazelli (@karlrparazelli) May 14, 2018
Feu de bâtiment – Rue Berri et Rue Ste-Catherine – Quatrième alarme – Coupure de courant possible. Merci d’éviter le secteur. pic.twitter.com/qX1aTKWQVJ
— Sécurité incendieMTL (@MTL_SIM) May 14, 2018
Reporters from the paper were quickly evacuated and are all safe and out of harm’s way. Photos from several different individuals revealed a massive amount of black smoke and tongues of fire spitting from the top of the building.
L’immeuble du @LeDevoir flambe. Tout le personnel est sain et sauf. C’est l’essentiel. pic.twitter.com/tqux4gLfU2
— Brian Myles (@brianmyles) May 14, 2018
Firefighters were able to get the fire under control and put out the flames.
L’incendie à l’immeuble abritant @LeDevoir est maîtrisé. Il n’y a plus de fumée et une des échelles redescend. Les pompiers sur le toit sécurisent les lieux pic.twitter.com/krvDctasuT
— Karl R-Parazelli (@karlrparazelli) May 14, 2018
The news outlet has since revealed that they will continue to publish their print edition for the following day. Damage to the building, however, is unknown.