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MONTREAL — Authorities are urging people without power to be careful after five people died in a series of deadly fires in Quebec, two of which are under investigation by provincial police. 

Three people are dead, including a 36-year-old woman, after a fire in Saint-Basile, Que., near Quebec City.

Provincial police say firefighters were called to a triplex in the town around 4:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. 

Police spokesman Sgt. Nicolas Scholtus said the fire appears to have started in a third floor apartment.

He said first responders found a woman in that unit who was later pronounced dead in  hospital, and firefighters later found two more bodies after the flames were put out. No details about the victims were immediately released. 

Earlier, police spokesman Sgt. Stéphane Tremblay said firefighters found the body of one person at a residence in Louiseville, Que., northeast of Montreal, after a fire that started around 10 p.m. on Friday evening.

And in Quebec City, the local fire department said one person is dead and another in critical condition after a fire in the city on Saturday morning.

Fire Chief Christian Paradis told reporters an unattended candle was likely the cause of the blaze. 

"Never leave lit candles unattended when you go to bed, extinguish the candles, please be careful," he told reporters.

Paradis said the Quebec City fire department received as many calls Friday as it usually receives in a month.

"Yesterday was a historic day in the 253 years since the creation of the fire protection service," he said.

The fires took place amid a major winter storm that brought frigid temperatures, high winds and heavy snow to much of the province.  

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2022.

The Canadian Press