Highrise fire on Ramsey Crescent displaces 39 residents, injures 16

Nearly 40 people have been forced out of their homes following an early morning fire in an Ottawa highrise building.

The Ottawa Paramedic Service says four adult women were taken to hospital following a fire that happened in a highrise on Ramsey Crescent, in the west end of Ottawa, in the early hours of Friday morning.

Paramedics told CTV News Ottawa the four women were transported to hospital in stable condition due to smoke inhalation.

Meanwhile, 12 other residents, eight of which were children, were assessed and treated at the scene.

Firefighters say they received a call at 4:40 a.m. from a monitoring agency reporting alarms were sounding in a highrise building located at 1065 Ramsey Cres.

Ottawa Fire Services chief Paul Hutt told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa At Work with Patricia Boal Friday that the fire happened in a 14-storey residential building, operated by Ottawa Community Housing.

When firefighters arrived at the scene and saw flames coming out of the building, they declared a working fire, asking for additional resources to be dispatched.

“(Firefighters’) first observations were heavy fire conditions and smoke conditions in and around the third and fourth floors,” Hutt added.

He says due to the heavy smoke, some residents were asked to shelter in place. Meanwhile, other residents sheltered in an OC Transpo bus while firefighters fought the fire.

“In this situation, there was a number of hallways that were full of smoke, so occupants had to actually shelter in place, or on their balcony,” he said.

The fire was declared under control just after 5 a.m. Crews then searched the building for occupants inside.

Hutt says 16 units were impacted by the fire, displacing 39 residents.

"The Ottawa Community Housing has very robust emergency plans in the event of situations at their facilities, and they will be making accommodations and temporary accommodations for the residents that have been displaced," he added.

Crews used high pressure fans to ventilate the residual smoke out of the structure.

As of Friday morning, police remain on scene.

The investigation into what led to the fire is ongoing.