An overnight worker talked to police and told Québecor Média that he was "95% sure" the fire was caused by a cigarette that was lit by a resident who refused to be let outside to smoke less than an hour earlier. He also said that the black smoke that was billowing from above the cracked open door of room 206 on the man's second-floor room. When the worker tried to help, he had "began to suffocate" and needed to leave. On his way out, he was able to rescue a man who had broken his leg by jumping from his balcony. In the fire, an estimated 32 people were killed and 15 people were injured.