Quebec coroner to investigate second Old Montreal fatal fire [Video]

Quebec’s chief coroner has ordered a public inquest into the fatal Old Montreal fire last week that claimed the lives of two French nationals.

Police identified the victims as 43-year-old Leonor Geraudie and seven-year-old Verane Reynaud Geraudie, both of France.

They were killed after fire swept through a building in Old Montreal early Friday morning and their bodies were removed from the scene that evening.

Chief coroner Reno Bernier says in a news release the inquiry will be overseen by Gehane Kamel, the same coroner who was assigned to investigate the March 2023 fire in Old Montreal that killed seven people.

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Bernier says Kamel can choose to combine both inquiries because they share similar facts, notably the two buildings that caught fire were owned by the same man — Emile Benamor — and that arson is suspected …