Montreal police investigating suspicious fire in Saint-Michel

Montreal police are investigating a case of suspected arson in the borough of VilleraySaint-MichelParc-Extension.

It happened in a vacant commercial building on Jarry Street East near 2e Avenue at around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday.

Montreal police spokesperson Const. Raphal Bergeron said the fire department was able to quickly extinguish the fire, but traces of an accelerant werefound at the scene.

When firefightersfind evidence of a fire being criminally set, the case is handed over to the Montreal police department's arson squad.

"At this moment we don't have any suspects or any information concerning the reason of that fire," he said. "Investigators will try to determine all that."

The boarded up and graffiti-splattered building has sat abandoned for some time. Known as La Zone, the resto-pub had a canopied entrance and wrap-around porch with a mature tree growing up through the woodwork.

The building, constructed in 1956, is listed for sale at an asking price of $2.4 million on Realtor.ca and other sites. Two years ago, a demolition request was submitted to the borough.