Five-alarm fire forces evacuation of seniors' residence in Sud-Ouest borough

A five-alarm fire tore through a vacant church and neighbouring seniors’ home in the city’s Sud-Ouest borough early Monday.

Feu de bâtiment – Intersection rue de l’Église / rue Laurendeau – Cinquième alarme – Coupure de courant possible. Merci d’éviter le secteur. pic.twitter.com/u6Gwz503SY

— Sécurité incendieMTL (@MTL_SIM) February 23, 2026

The fire broke out at about 1:40 a.m. in the vacant St. Paul’s Catholic Church on De l’Eglise St. near Laurendeau St. and spread to a neighbouring seniors’ residence.

By 2:45 a.m., the blaze had escalated to a five-alarm fire requiring more than 100 firefighters to deal with the flames.

Nearly 150 people — more than 70 of them from the seniors’ residence — were evacuated from the area near the fire and given assistance from the Red Cross.

Despite the intensity of the fire, no injuries were reported.