Fire leaves cat dead, displaces two people in Ottawa's east end

Ottawa Fire Services says a cat has died and two adults have been displaced following a fire that started in the kitchen of a home in the city's east end Thursday afternoon. (Jean Lalonde/ Ottawa Fire Services)

Ottawa Fire Services says a cat has died and two adults have been displaced following a fire that started in the kitchen of a two-storey single family home in the city's east end Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters say they received a call just after 2 p.m. from a resident reporting smoke in their kitchen after coming to their home, which is located in the 2000 block of Tawney Road.

The resident told firefighters that their cat was still inside the home, noting that no one else was inside.

When firefighters arrived on the scene and confirmed smoke was coming from the two-storey home, they started fighting the fire by advancing a hose line inside.

Meanwhile, a secondary crew started looking for the cat inside the smoke-filled home.

When they found that the fire had spread into the attic, they cut the ceiling in the kitchen to extinguish the flames in the attic.

The fire was declared under control at 2:35 p.m.

The cat was found dead inside, firefighters say.

"An aerial ladder was setup at the scene to conduct roof operations, including using chainsaws to cut holes in the roof for ventilation and to extinguish the flames inside the attic," firefighters add.

The investigation into what led to the fire is ongoing.