Cat dies in Centretown high-rise fire

A house cat succumbed to its injuries in a fire that started inside the bathroom of an apartment in Centretown on Monday evening.

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Ottawa firefighters were called to a high-rise building in the 300 block of Waverley Street after a monitoring company reported an active fire alarm at approximately 8:45 p.m.

Firefighters made their way to the 7th-storey where they found the floor full of smoke and dispatched additional resources to the scene, according to a news release by Ottawa Fire Services.

Firefighters entered the unit where the fire was coming from and found it full of smoke with "zero visibility" conditions.

The fire was found coming from the bathroom of the unit and was extinguished shortly after 9 p.m. before it could spread further.

A search of the apartment found no occupants, but a cat was found unconscious and brought downstairs. Firefighters performed CPR on the cat, but it did not survive.

Ottawa paramedics tell CTV News an adult male in his 50's was treated and assessed for minor smoke inhalation, but was not transported to hospital.

The smoke inside the building was ventilated from the structure and the air quality was deemed safe before residents were allowed back inside.

An Ottawa Fire Services investigator was dispatched to the scene to determine the cause and origin of the fire.