Five different fires across Ottawa since Sunday evening have displaced dozens of people and sent one woman to hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to officials.
An Ottawa man is also facing arson charges related to one of the fires, police said.
The latest fire affected a three-storey home on James Street between Kent Street and Lyon Avenue, Ottawa Fire Services said. OFS received a call shortly before 11 a.m. on Monday informing crews that the home was a high-occupancy residence with approximately 20 people inside.
Crews were able to contain the fire to a single bedroom and helped to evacuate numerous residents, OFS said. No injuries have been reported and an OFS investigator has been dispatched to determine a cause.
A fire also broke out Monday shortly after 9 a.m. in a two-storey home on St. Patrick Street, OFS said.
OFS said a passerby was walking by the building when they noticed smoke and alerted the four residents inside to the fire.
Fire crews arrived shortly after to get the fire under control with no injuries reported. Two people will be displaced by the fire, OFS said.
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An OFS investigator has been dispatched to determine the cause.
Firefighters first responded to a call Sunday night at 8:40 p.m. reporting a fire at a three-storey home on Powell Avenue between Bank Street and Lyon Avenue, according to a release.
When crews arrived a few moments later, the majority of occupants had evacuated, OFS said.
But crews had to enter the building to help one occupant, a woman in her 60s, who was trapped on the top floor.
The interior stairwell had caught fire, crews said, so firefighters entered through the rear window of the building and located the occupant, removing her from the building and providing care until paramedics arrived.
Ottawa Paramedic Services said the woman was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
A second alarm was declared at 8:45 p.m., with crews deeming the fire under control around 9:30 p.m.
The Canadian Red Cross and the Salvation Army will step in to help care and find shelter for the 15 residents displaced in the fire, OFS said.
The provincial fire marshal said it is assisting OFS investigators to determine the cause of the fire.
Ottawa man set fire to own room, police say
Later that same evening, just before 1:30 a.m., fire crews were called to an apartment fire at 182 Daly Ave.
Crews were able to snuff out the fire within an hour but two occupants will likely be displaced by the blaze, OFS said. No injuries were reported despite heavy smoke on scene.
Ottawa police allege the blaze started when a man living in a rooming house deliberately set a fire in his own room before telling others in the building there was a fire and exiting the building.
Officers caught up with the man an hour later and arrested him without incident, police said.
The arson unit has charged 27-year-old Naddir Abboud of Ottawa with causing fire with disregard for human life. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
The Red Cross and Salvation Army will also be assisting the two occupants here, and a fire investigator has been dispatched.
A third fire then broke out on the top floor of an unoccupied building at 12 Arthur St. around 3:40 a.m., OFS said. Crews continued working on this fire into the early morning hours on Monday.
The Ottawa police arson unit is also investigating this blaze to determine if it is suspicious, a spokesperson confirmed to Global News.
This was the second fire in a vacant building in Ottawa’s Chinatown neighbourhood in the past two weeks, with a blaze breaking out on Somerset Street West earlier this month.
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