Man severely burned in Quebec City apartment fire

A man was severely burned after his Quebec City apartment building caught fire Saturday evening.

The fire broke out shortly after 6 p.m. at 790 Saint-Joseph Street East a narrow, brick-laid street. The three-story building, with a facade of intricate stone and woodwork, hascommercial space on the ground floor and apartments on the upper floors.

When entering the burning apartment, firefighters saw a man in his bed, said Alexandre Lajoie, spokesperson for the city's fire department.

The man, in his 60s, was immediately extracted from the residenceand transported by ambulance to hospital in critical condition with burns to 60 per cent of his body, said Lajoie.

Three more people were trapped on the third floor of the building, unable to flee because of the thick smoke. Firefighters lead them out through a stairwell, but none needed to be transported to hospital.

A large security perimeter was established between Monseigneur-Gauvreau and Saint-Dominique streets during the intervention which involved 40 firefighters.

The fire was under control by 6:50 p.m., but there was significant fire, smoke and water damage to the building.