About 14 people are homeless after a three-alarm blaze ripped through a house in the Glebe Monday afternoon, sending flames shooting about 30 feet from the building and causing heavy smoke to billow across the neighbourhood.
A superintendant living in the basement apartment of 114-116 Glebe Ave. told CTV Ottawa he spotted flames on the second floor of the building after hearing the fire alarm go off early Monday afternoon.
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He said he ran around the house, which has about 14 units, to make sure everyone was safe and had a way out of the building.
Fire crews arrived at about 1:45 p.m. and rescued two dogs from the flames, which destroyed the building.
Stuart Dawson's one-year-old puppy Bird was one of those dogs. Dawson was at work at the time of the fire and rushed home when he got a text message about the blaze.
He said he raced home to check on his puppy, and it was the most scared he'd ever been in his life.
Fire officials say cats were also in the building at the time of the fire. It's currently unclear if the pets were rescued.
Nearby residents living on First Avenue reported they had no water in their homes by mid-afternoon.
The fire has closed several streets to commuters. Bank Street is currently closed southbound at Clemow Avenue and northbound at First Avenue.
Glebe Avenue and First Avenue are also closed between Bank Street and O'Connor Street. Commuters are asked to avoid the area.
