Over a dozen people were forced out of their homes on Tuesday afternoon when flames tore through a triplex in Pointe-St-Charles.
The fire ignited in the basement but spread to the roof and a neighbouring building, growing into a five-alarm blaze with difficult conditions for firefighters trying to get things under control.
The weather we have right now, it's really tough for equipment, for guys—I mean, we work with water so you know how everything is freezing," Montreal Fire operations chief Martin Guilbault said.
It took over 120 firefighters hours to extinguish the flames.
About 20 residents from the six apartment units in the building have been put in contact with the Red Cross to find temporary lodging while they are unable to return home.
No one was injured. The cause of the blaze is currently unknown.
—with files from CTV Reporter Denise Roberts in Pointe-St-Charles.