Deadly Montreal fire now being investigated as arson

Open this photo in gallery:

Montreal police are now leading a criminal probe into the March apartment building fire that killed seven people in the city’s Old Port neighbourhood, after investigators found evidence of arson in the structure’s rubble, the force announced on Monday.

The blaze – which consumed several Airbnb units, prompted new legislation regulating short-term rentals in Quebec and led to scrutiny of the property owner’s fire safety record – appears to have spread with the help of accelerant, Montreal police Inspector David Shane told a news conference.

“The arson and explosives unit is able to confirm that the accidental cause has now been ruled out. We are now talking about a criminal investigation,” he said. “Our investigators have now identified an area where the fire started and I can confirm that traces of accelerant were found and may help explain the speed at which the blaze spread, combined with the building’s heritage structure.”

The apartment building in Place d’Youville, at the heart of Montreal’s historic port district, went up in flames on March 16 while 22 people were inside, some of them staying in unlicensed Airbnb rentals. In addition to the seven dead, nine were injured and taken to hospital. Six escaped unharmed.

An investigation into the deaths by the provincial coroner has now been put on hold until the end of the criminal investigation, or the end of any judicial process that might stem from charges laid.

Police have not ruled out murder charges, depending on what further evidence investigators find. Criminal negligence charges are also possible, Insp. Shane said.

It took five months to rule out accidental causes because such investigations are “methodical,” the officer said. An electrical-engineering report was delivered to police only in late July or early August, he added.

Police would not provide any information about possible suspects.

City officials had flagged possible safety issues with the building on multiple occasions since 2009, including a dead-end hallway on the second floor and a lack of a second exit on the third floor. But a fire department moratorium on investigating evacuation routes prevented follow-up in 2021. That moratorium was lifted in the days after the deadly blaze as a direct result of the tragedy, according to two fire-department sources who spoke previously with The Globe and Mail. The Globe did not name the sources, because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Louis-Philippe Lacroix, whose 18-year-old daughter Charlie died in the fire while staying in a windowless Airbnb apartment, said the cause of the blaze is ultimately less important than the dangerous building itself.

“If my daughter was in a room with a window, she would still be alive,” he said. “Regardless of the source of the fire, if the building was adequate, many more people would be alive.”

The building’s owner, Emile Benamor, did not respond to requests for comment. His properties have a long history of fire-safety violations, including an alarm system at the Place D’Youville building that was deemed non-compliant by inspectors as recently as 2020. Officials had also previously flagged problems related to the building’s fire extinguishers and firewalls.

Also in 2020, fire inspectors visited a property on Notre-Dame Street owned by Mr. Benamor, after a tenant complained about the presence of an alleged clandestine rooming house in the building.

During the visit, an inspector tested out the fire escape, but the cable suspending it in the air suddenly snapped, plunging the structure and the inspector to the ground, where he suffered a broken ankle, according to court documents.

Mr. Benamor was charged with failing to have an emergency exit maintained in adequate condition, but was acquitted last year because there wasn’t enough proof he had failed to show diligence in addressing the issue.

After the deadly fire in March, Quebec and Montreal attempted to crack down on short-term rentals. The province passed a law in June that will impose fines on Airbnb and similar companies for publishing listings not registered with the Quebec government. The city, meanwhile, launched an inspection task force in certain boroughs this summer.

With a report from Frédérik-Xavier Duhamel