Fire damages Gloucester tire business

Ottawa Fire Services says there were no injuries reported following the fire that broke out Wednesday night along Canotek Road in Gloucester. (Ottawa Fire Services/ X)

Ottawa Fire Services says there were no injuries reported following the fire that broke out Wednesday night along Canotek Road in Gloucester.

Officials say shortly before 11 p.m., they received multiple calls reporting smoke and flames coming from a storefront in the 5300 block of Canotek Road.

Callers reported that flames were visible from Highway 174.

When firefighters arrived on scene, they found the two-storey commercial building was fully engulfed in smoke and flames. That’s when they “initiated a fast attack and advanced a hose line inside and also set up an aerial ladder over the structure," according to officials.

Firefighters add that there was a hazard scene created by propane cylinders inside the unit, noting that there were tires and rims inside the store – which created a large fire load.

“Firefighters used saws to open up multiple parts of the roof to attack the fire. Our safety officer shut off the natural gas and the electrical to the unit due to our crews cutting around the natural gas lines,” the city's fire department's spokesperson Nick Defazio told CTV News Ottawa Thursday morning.

When the fire was extinguished around 1:30 a.m., crews used a thermal imaging camera to check for any hot spots. They also deployed their “extensive ventilation operations” to remove the smoke out of the structure.

Ottawa fire’s quick response prevented the fire from spreading to neighbouring buildings.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.