Ottawa Fire crews battled a four-alarm fire in the early hours of Sunday morning at a condominium that left one person injured.

They say they were called to The Meridian at Centrepointe in College Ward just before 3:00 a.m.

By 3:30 a.m., the blaze had spread to the roof and become a four-alarm fire. 

"I was looking around to see if it was my own apartment and then the lights went out and I knew we had a problem," said resident Brian Mahoney.

Mahoney says he walked outside of his unit to see firefighters coming up the stairs yelling at residents to get out. 

"I came down the stairs and I didn't smell anything until I got outside and then the flames were way up," he said. 

Ruth Taylor and her husband watched the flames build from their apartment across the street.  "It was huge," said Taylor. "It was just an inferno."

"The flames were higher than the building, at least three stories," said her husband, Allen. 

The building was evacuated, and the occupants are being sheltered at Ben Franklin Place at 101 Centrepointe Drive. 

"The alarm system did go off and people self evacuated," said Ottawa Fire Service Platoon Chief Rodney Fleck.

That quick action also allowed firefighters to find and rescue a family of ducklings separated from their mother during the blaze. 

Ottawa Paramedics treated one patient with a minor injury.

66 units in the building are affected by the blaze. The blaze was isolated to the garage and common area between 1 and 3 Meridian, two adult-only condo buildings side-by-side.

"No major damage to my unit except for smoke and a heavy smell," said resident Chuck McGregor. "I'm lucky." 

Ottawa Paramedics and Ottawa Fire worked together to get residents essential items from their units including medication.