Cooking fire leaves six families homeless after Laval apartment evacuated

Fire leaves six families homeless A fire broke out in a Laval apartment complex, leaving six families without a home on Oct. 19, 2023.

A cooking fire in Laval is being blamed for leaving six families homeless on Thursday night.

Authorities say the fire started around 5:30 p.m. in the basement unit of a six-unit apartment building on 80th Avenue and Perron Boulevard in the Chomedey district.

Laval fire department chief of operations Jean-Francois Lortie told CTV News that firefighters brought the blaze under control at 6:43 p.m.

"The fire started as a cooking fire in the basement unit, causing major damage to that unit," said Lortie.

The other units were damaged by smoke, and for that reason, occupants of those units will not be able to return for several days.

The Red Cross was at the scene to provide immediate shelter and food assistance to those who needed it.