It was a busy Monday night for Ottawa firefighters and other emergency crews. There were two confirmed downtown fires and two calls for water rescues in Ottawa's west end along the Ottawa River. The first call came in Monday evening after a 911 call for distressed swimmers near Westboro Beach caught near a whirl pool area. The Ottawa Fire Water Rescue launched a boat and brought the two swimmers to safety. Lifeguards at the beach were able to launch a boat and bring a third swimmer to shore. There are no reported injuries.
The next call came for a working fire just before 10 p.m. at 215 Nepean Street in Centretown. Black smoke was seen coming from the sixth floor of a high-rise apartment building. The fire was contained to one unit due to a stove top fire and ventilated. There is no damage and the unit is unoccupied.
Less than an hour later, firefighters were called to the Ottawa River once again for reports of two kayaks stuck in the Duchesne Rapids, west of Westboro Beach near the Britannia Yacht Club around 10:40 p.m. The Ottawa Fire Water Rescue was launched once more, but the boaters were able to make it back to shore safely without assistance. There are no reported injuries.
Emergency crews were then called to 15 Frank Street for a working fire at a multi-unit building. The blaze was contrained to a dryer in the basement laundry room of the 3-storey building. There are no reported injuires and no residents were displaced due to the fire.
photo credit: Scott Stillborn
