Fire that left at least 1 dead in Quebec City on Thursday under criminal investigation

Quebec City policesaythey have reasons to believe that a fire that left aman in his 60s deadand a woman who lived with him in critical conditionwas arson.

The fire broke out in a garbage container and quickly spread to a six-unit apartmentbuildingin Quebec City's Saint-Roch neighbourhoodat around 4 a.m. on Thursday. Anadjacent complex also caught fire.

The man and the woman were both transported to the hospital, where he later died.

"Our investigators will look at all the elements to ensure that we can arrest a suspect in this affair," David Poitras, a spokesperson for the Service de police de la Ville de Qubec, told Radio-Canada on Wednesday.

Poitras said the police arelooking into many elements, including the fact that another fire was lit a few days earlier, also in a garbage container,less than a block away.

Hewould not disclose more details as theinvestigation is still ongoing.

About 80 firefighterswere deployed to the scene. They succeeded in getting the fire under control at around 6 a.m. Both buildings were severelydamaged by the flames,the city's fire department said in an email.

Five of the firefighters suffered injuries and were taken care of by paramedics, the fire department said.

Five buildings were evacuated. The Red Cross was on site and assisted about 20 people, according to the fire department.

Hydro-Qubec also had to shut down the powerin the neighbourhood to facilitate the operations, which leftmore than 2,800 without electricity whilefirefighters battled the flames.