A major apartment fire in Gatineau has caused a roof to collapse and forced the evacuation of three buildings.

Firefighters were called to the 200 block of rue de Morency in Gatineau, near the intersection of boulevards la Vérendrye and de l'Hôpital at approximately 3 a.m.

'I got up, went to the window and saw sparks coming down in front of our bedroom window and I knew something was wrong," said Eric Becker, who lived on the building's top floor.

"I heard people outside screaming and yelling. It was horrifying."

"The alarm went off in the staircase and we heard screams," said Luc Daoust, who lives on the second floor.

"We gathered our most important things and got out."

Gatineau fire chief Guy Dagenais describes helping residents from three buildings 0:21

Roof of 1 building collapsed

The roof of one apartment building with 32 units collapsed. It and two other buildings were evacuated as firefighters checked their structural integrity.

There were no reports of injuries. The fire was officially declared out just before 9 a.m.

Approximately 25 firefighters were checking the structural stability of the affected buildings Monday morning. There is no estimate of when people will be able to return to their homes. (Leah Hansen/CBC)

STO buses were at the scene to provide shelter to residents forced out of the buildings.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

"We're just making sure that the building is stable so we can then proceed to find the cause," said Gatineau fire district chief Scott Killeen.