Firefighters battle 2 fires in frigid temperatures, including 1 displacing 3 residents in Centretown West

Ottawa Fire Services says crews fought two fires in the frigid temperatures since Wednesday afternoon, including one that has displaced three residents in Centretown West.

Firefighters say a fire that started in a dryer inside a multi-unit complex in Centretown West in the early hours of Thursday morning has displaced three residents.

Crews add they received a call around 02:15 a.m. from a resident of the three-story building located in the 100 block of Ron Kolbus Private reporting their dryer was on fire.

Firefighters were at the scene four minutes into the initial call. That was when they entered the unit and found smoke and flames were “rolling across the ceiling.”

They then started extinguishing the fire, which was declared under control shortly before 3 a.m. The fire was contained to the unit of origin, firefighters say.

Crews then searched the building and did not find any occupants inside.

An OC Transpo bus was dispatched to the scene to provide shelter for all the residents who were evacuated from their apartments, as the cold temperatures gripped the capital.

The three residents of the unit of origin were displaced. All other residents were allowed to go back to their units after the air quality was deemed safe.

No injuries were reported.

The second fire happened in the city’s South March area Wednesday afternoon. Firefighters say they received a call shortly after 5 p.m. from a resident reporting smoke and flames were coming from the roof of their single-family home located in the in the 0-100 block of Panandrick View Drive.

When crews arrived at the scene and found flames were coming out of the chimney of the home, they quickly started attacking the fire by advancing a hose line inside.

While the fire was in an area that does not have hydrants, firefighters had to “set up a water shuttle system using (their) tanker trucks to bring water to the scene from a nearby water source.”

“Firefighters made their way onto the roof to spray water down the chimney. The fire had spread into a small area of the attic space of the home, so fire crews opened up the ceilings to access and extinguish the flames in the attic,” firefighters said in a post on X.

The occupants were able to evacuate before the home was filled with smoke. No injuries were reported.

When the fire was declared under control at 5:40 p.m., firefighters used high pressure fans to ventilate the residual smoke out of the structure. They then used tarps to cover the furniture and belongings from smoke and water damage. The fire was contained to the chimney and the attic, and the occupants were allowed to go back inside.

The city’s fire department sent fire investigators to both scenes.