Ottawa firefighters contained an apartment fire to the unit of origin in a 30+ unit, 6-storey apartment building early Saturday morning in the 200 block of Clarence St.
At approx. 3:07 a.m., multiple 9-1-1 callers reported a fire in an apartment on the 4th floor of a 6-storey apartment building.
The single occupant of the apartment was on the balcony and was forced to jump down to the balcony below due to the heavy flames coming from their apartment.
Firefighters arrived in three minutes and confirmed the heavy smoke and flames coming from the 4th floor apartment and put in a second alarm to dispatch additional resources to the scene. Firefighters began a fast attack and advanced a hose line to the 4th floor while additional crews began searching the structure for any occupants.
Firefighters extinguished the flames before they could spread past the apartment where the fire started. The fire was declared under control at 03:37.
An Ottawa transit bus was sent to the scene to provide shelter to the occupants of the building. Firefighters began extensive ventilation operations for the large amount of smoke that migrated throughout the structure. A total of 16 people were displaced due to the fire and required victim assistance. An investigator is investigating.
