Ambulance technicians who happened to be in the area noticed the blaze early yesterday morning.
The fire started in a large pile of tires stored behind the Centre du Pneu St. LÉonard, then spread to the building on Louis Sicard St. No one was injured, but the building was completely destroyed and hundreds of tires were lost. The company only opened months ago.
More than 80 firefighters were called in to put out the three-alarm fire. The Montreal Fire Department estimated the damage caused by the fire at more than $750,000.
The timing of the fire is curious. New legislation requiring drivers to install winter tires in Quebec by Dec. 15 has significantly increased demand for the product and installation.
The fire department asked the police to investigate because the fire appeared to be suspicious, in particular because it appeared to spread so quickly.
"For the moment, we don’t know what caused the fire. We can’t say for sure how it started," said Montreal police spokesperson Constable Christian Emond. (Tire Review/Akron)
