Owner of Old Montreal buildings where nine died in fires facing new $3,300 fine over obstructed emergency exits

CTV News

11-07-2025

The owner of two Old Montreal buildings where nine people died in separate fires has been fined again after being found guilty of failing to maintain emergency exits at one of his properties.
Records obtained by CTV News show that Emile Benamor was fined $3,317 after Justice Gaetan Plouffe of the Municipal Court found him guilty in two separate cases for the fire code violations at 4935-4939 Côte-des-Neiges Street, a four-storey apartment building in the city's Côte-Des-Neiges neighbourhood.
On June 27, he was convicted of 'having evacuation routes that are obstructed,' which is a violation of the fire safety code, in two separate cases. In the first case, he was fined $1,800, while in the second he was fined $1,200 plus $317 in fees, according to the records.
4935-4939 Côte-des-Neiges Street,
An apartment building at 4935-4939 Côte-des-Neiges Street in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood. (Source: Google Street View)
The court gave Benamor a Sept. 25 deadline to pay the fines. His office did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Owner fined for other fire code violations
The ruling comes days after he was also convicted of failing to maintain a clear path to the emergency exit at another one of his apartment buildings at 2321 De Hampton Ave., in the city's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood.
In that case, he was fined $650 for the violation, plus costs, after fire safety inspectors found that, in one unit, one door leading outside had no handle. A door in another apartment had been held together by a chain and adhesive tape.
'The risk of serious harm resulting from these breaches is high in the event of a fire, as they jeopardize the safety and lives of residents,' wrote Justice Johanne Duplessis in his judgement dated June 19.
A lawyer for Benamor has previously told CTV News that he intended to appeal the June 19 decision.
In the case of the latest fire code convictions for the Côte-des-Neiges Street building, the inspection was done on Aug. 9, 2023, which is less than five months after a deadly fire ripped through a heritage building at Place d'Youville in Old Montreal that was owned by Benamor. The March 16, 2023 fire killed seven people.
On Oct. 4, 2024, another fire broke out at a building on Notre-Dame Street in Old Montreal, also owned by Benamor. That fire killed French tourist Léonor Geraudie and her seven-year-old daughter Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie. Two others were injured.
Police allege both fires were criminal. No charges have yet been laid in the 2023 fire after police handed the case over the Crown prosecutors.
Following the second deadly fire in 2024, two men aged 18 and 20 have been charged with second-degree murder. A preliminary inquiry is scheduled to begin on Oct. 27.
People who stayed at both of those buildings alleged there were safety issues, including a lack of smoke detectors and exposed electrical wiring , as well as rooms with no windows .
37 fire code inspections since 2023
The Montreal fire department (Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal) carried out an inspection blitz at Benamor's properties following the two deadly fires to ensure his buildings were up to code.
As of June 28, 2025, 37 fire safety inspections have been done: 19 in 2023, 13 in 2024, and five in 2025.
The fire department is currently following up on four inspections relating to his properties, a city spokesperson said. Benamor also has 14 active cases before the Municipal Court awaiting judgment.