Multiple residents rescued following highrise fire in Carlington

Ottawa Fire Services says multiple residents have been rescued after a fire broke out in a highrise building in Carlington in the early hours of Friday morning.

Ottawa Paramedic Service told CTV News Ottawa six people were treated on scene for mild smoke inhalation -- four of them were in the building where the fire started, and the other two were in the adjacent building.

Firefighters say they received multiple calls at 2:18 a.m. reporting smoke visible on the third floor of a highrise residential building located at 1400 LePage Ave.

When firefighters arrived on scene, they went to the third floor where they were met with smoke. That was when they declared a working fire and started working on putting it down. When the fire became under control at 2:46 a.m., firefighters started rescuing residents. 

Crews remain on scene to ventilate the building.

The investigation into what led to the fire is ongoing.

Residents who are affected by this incident will be assisted by the Canadian Red Cross and the Salvation Army, firefighters say.

In a statement to CTV News, Ottawa Community Housing said Friday its staff immidiately responded to the incident to help the affected tenants. It notes that those who were living in the appartment where the fire started had been displaced, while all other residents were able to return to their units as of 12 p.m. Friday.

"The health and safety of tenants is one of the top priorities for Ottawa Community Housing," reads the statement. 

"OCH staff immediately respdeond and were on site to assist tenants and partners as needed.

"OCH continues to work with our partners at the Canadian Red Cross to support tenants. Our remediation vendor is on site coordinating the cleanup.

"We would like to thank Ottawa Fire Services, Ottawa Paramedic Service and all our partners for their swift response and continuous support."