On Sunday, September 28, firefighters from station 37 received a call to respond to a fire in a rooming house on rue Bélanger, in the Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie Borough. Units from stations 9, 26, 29, 34, 35 and 47 were dispatched to the site. When they arrived, the firefighters saw that there were difficulties evacuating the tenants, since there had apparently been an explosion near the main elevator shaft of the 52-unit building. In view of the situation, they contacted the department’s communications centre to send more resources. The priority of the first firefighters on the scene was to evacuate the building safely as quickly as possible. While some crews were fighting the fire, others completed the evacuation. About thirty people were trapped inside, while others were on the balconies. Using portable ladders, the firefighters evacuated the tenants, working as a team with the different emergency responders at the scene.
The fire was soon brought under control by the firefighters, but they suspected that the main stairway had been weakened as a result of the explosion. The team specializing in structural collapses was called in to secure the building. After thorough inspections, the specialized firefighters stabilized the building to make it safe for the emergency responders and the public.
All the firefighters present contributed to the efficient and effective response, including René Thomassin, head of operations (134-3), captain Stéphane Pelletier (47-3), captain Stéphane Maillé (37-3), firefighter Sylvain Caya (37-3), firefighter Patrick Caputo (37-3), firefighter Sylvain Déry (37-3), lieutenant Martin Baillargeon (9-3), firefighter Alexandre Gélinas (9-3), firefighter Charles Nantel (9-3), firefighter Richard Perron (9-3), firefighter Emmanuel Ridel (41-4), lieutenant Claude Black (21-3), firefighter Richard Boutin (9-3), firefighter Ludovic Pichette (9-3), lieutenant Sylvain Hockhoussen (29-3), firefighter Sylvain Lizotte (29-3), firefighter Sébastien Circé (29-3) and firefighter Guillaume St-Onge (29-3), who all handled the evacuation.
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