A major fire in the downtown Montreal district of Plateau Mont Royal on Tuesday evening forced about 100 people out of their homes.

The fire apparently started after 8 p.m. ET in a three-storey condominium that was under construction on St. André Street, near Roy Street East, said Gilles Ducharme, the Montreal fire department's chief of operations.

"It's burning like a house of cards," Ducharme said.

There were no reports of injuries.

He said the fast-moving fire spread to two other nearby occupied buildings and firefighters expected to be on the scene most of the night, according to the Montreal Gazette newspaper.

At least 125 firefighters were called in to fight the five-alarm fire.