Woman revived, treated for cyanide poisoning after early morning fire in south Ottawa

Paramedics say they revived a woman and administered an antidote for cyanide poisoning after firefighters rescued her from a burning apartment unit in Ottawa’s south end early Tuesday morning.

First responders were called to a highrise apartment building at 316 Lorry Greenberg Dr. in Greenboro around 3:20 a.m. by an alarm company.

Spotting a “slight haze” on the third floor, firefighters found the apartment on fire and forced their way in, Ottawa Fire Services said. Firefighters rescued one resident from the “heavy” flames and began administering first aid for cardiac arrest, the fire department said.

When they arrived, paramedics took over and were able to restart the woman’s heart, according to a news release from the Ottawa Paramedic Service.

The woman, who is in her 50s, also sustained burns and smoke inhalation, paramedics said. Because cyanide is present in residential fire smoke, paramedics gave the woman an antidote for poisoning “through an access in her bone marrow” as they drove her to the hospital, the release said.

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The woman was in life-threatening condition when she was admitted to hospital, paramedics said.

The paramedic service said this was the first time paramedics had administered the cyanide antidote, called hydroxocobalamin, in Ottawa.

Residents living in other units in the building were allowed to return to their homes, according to the fire department.

An investigator is probing the cause of the fire and no damage estimate is yet available, Ottawa fire officials said.