Ottawa Fire says eight businesses were damaged or destroyed after a large fire in Orléans Saturday afternoon.
Crews were called to St. Joseph Boulevard near Grey Nuns Drive just after 12:30 pm.
Dee Canares' shop, Flowermania, was one of the damaged business. On Easter Sunday, she stopped by the store to salvage a special order for a grandmother celebrating her birthday.
"I couldn't even sleep last night because I'm thinking about my customers and then they keep texting me to say it's okay, I'm okay and I feel sad," she says.
Canares' hydro has been cut and her flowers have been damaged by the smoke. Luckily, she says, her store sustained less damage than some of the others.
"The main thing I am thinking about is my customers," she says. "I'm good right now, but I do not know how the flowers smell and how bad they are."
Customers of the various stores stopped by Sunday to see the destruction for themselves.
"It breaks my heart because they work so hard for this," says Gaston Florent, a long time customer and friend of George and Son's Upholstery. "The whole family worked together for this."
Officials says only minor injuries were reported. Paramedics say no one was taken to hospital.
Damages are estimated at a couple million dollars.
There is still no word on cause. Ontario's Fire Marshall is investigating. Foul play has not been ruled out.
