OTTAWA -- More than a dozen people have been displaced from their homes and one woman is in critical condition after five separate fires Sunday evening and early Monday morning. One person is also facing charges in connection with one of the fires.
The first alarm bells rang at around 8:40 p.m. Sunday at a three-storey apartment building on Powell Avenue in the Glebe.
Most of the residents were able to evacuate safely, but one was still trapped on an upper floor when firefighters arrived. The stairwell was engulfed in flames, so firefighters had to climb into the building through one of the windows to search for the trapped person.
The individual, a woman in her 60s, was found and brought outside. Ottawa paramedics say she was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Firefighters declared the fire under control by 9:30 p.m. Fire officials say the building housed approximately 15 people and all of them will be displaced. The fire marshall has been called in because of the extent of the blaze.
What caused the fire is under investigation.
At 1:29 a.m. Monday, firefighters were called to an on Daly Avenue. No injuries were reported in this fire, but firefighters believe the two occupants of the apartment will be displaced.
Ottawa police later said the address on Daly Avenue was a rooming house and accused one many of intentionally setting the fire before telling others the house was on fire and leaving.
Naddir Abboud, 27, is charged with causing fire with disregard for human life. He is set to appear in court Monday.
At 3:40 a.m. several 911 calls reported a fire on the top floor of a building on Arthur Street. The building was unoccupied and no injuries were reported.
At 9:11 a.m., fire crews were called to a duplex on St. Patrick Street between Dalhouise Street and Parent Avenue. A passerby saw smoke and then helped the four people in the building get out.
The fire was at the back of the building and was extinguished by 9:30. Two residents will be displaced and no injuries were reported by fire officials.
Finally, a fifth fire was reported Monday morning on James Street between Kent Street and Lyon Street in a building that is home to about 20 people. The fire was under control just after 11 a.m. and no injuries were reported. The fire was contained to the bedroom of the home.
All of the residents who have been forced from their homes as a result of these fires are being cared for by the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, fire officials say.
