Explosion, fire injure man and 2 kids on Montreal's South Shore

Three people were injured, including two children, after a residential building caught fire Monday afternoon in Longueuil, a city on Montreal's South Shore.

A man in his 50s was transported to a Montreal burn centre in critical condition, according to Alain Lessard, a division chief with the Longueuil fire service. 

The man may have second- and possibly third-degree burns to his face, Lessard said.

The two children were transported to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, and one had burns as well. The children's injuries are not life-threatening, Lessard said.

Lessard said authorities were first alerted to the explosions and fire at around 3:20 p.m. on Briggs Street, not far from Collège Édouard-Montpetit.

A total of six people were in the building's four apartments, but three were able to get out on their own.

It took 35 firefighters about 40 minutes to get the fire under control, Lessard said.

Electricity was cut in the neighbourhood while firefighters worked, and will be slowly restored, Lessard said.

Lessard could not yet say what caused the explosions. He did not clarify how many explosions there were, or how large they were.