'We're scared': Firefighters battle 2nd blaze in Overbrook highrise in 2 days
Ottawa Fire Services say crews battled a fire that broke out in the bedroom of an east end highrise on Friday evening - less than 48 hours after a fire in the same building displaced hundreds of residents and sent three people to hospital in critical condition on Thursday.
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The bedroom fire happened on the sixth floor Friday evening at 1244 Donald St. in the Overbrook neighbourhood.
One person sustained minor injuries. They were treated at the scene, Ottawa Paramedics spokesperson Marc-Antoine Deschamps told CTV News Ottawa Saturday.
Firefighters say they received multiple calls reporting a fire in one of the apartments in the highrise building. When crews arrived on scene, they saw flames and immediately started extinguishing the fire. It was declared under control at 11:46 p.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Residents are still displaced from a major fire that happened on Thursday evening. The Ottawa Police Service's arson unit continues to investigate that blaze, which is being considered suspicious.
"We are scared and we don’t know where to go," said Jackson Songa, who lives in the building.
The Office of the Fire Marshal says so far, there’s no indication the second fire is suspicious.
Emergency vehicles are seen outside a Donald Street apartment building where an earlier morning fire sent two children and a woman to hospital in critical condition Thursday, May 2, 2024. The Ottawa Police Arson Unit says the fire has been deemed suspicious.
“At this point, we are assessing the scene to determine the cause and origin of the fire,” said St éphane Dubuc, a fire investigator.
"We're viewing this as a separate fire."
There was visible damage in one unit on the sixth floor of the building on Saturday.
Some residents at the building are still displaced from the first floor on Thursday, including this family’s aunt, who can’t get up and down the stairs as the elevator remains out of service.
"They said it's really hard for her to get up the 15 floors so we didn't have choice, I came to help her get down," said Laila Masjedi, who has family in the building.
Residents who are affected by this fire will be receiving help from the Canadian Red Cross and the Salvation Army, firefighters say.
The third floor hallway of an Overbrook highrise after a fire broke out in a bedroom on Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Viewer provided photo)
The Ottawa Police arson unit is continuing to investigate Thursday's fire that sent two children and a woman to hospital in critical condition.
Ottawa Paramedic told CTV News Ottawa on Thursday that there were 14 injuries in total. While six patients were treated on scene, five others were taken to hospital in stable condition.
Hundreds of displaced residents sheltered nearby after the incident. They were able to board OC Transpo buses later in the morning to regroup at the Overbrook Community Centre.
Ottawa Fire Services chief Paul Hutt said the highrise building has approximately 136 units. He said that 50 apartments were impacted by Thursday's fire, citing water and smoke damage.
With files from CTV News Ottawa's Katie Griffin
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