Two women in their 20s were killed after a fire engulfed an Ottawa home early Saturday morning.
Just before 3 a.m., fire officials were notified of a blaze at a semi-detached house in the city’s south end.
Firefighters were able to enter the home upon arrival but were eventually forced to exit.
“Unfortunately before they (firefighters) were able to search the entire structure, the building became very untenable,” Gerry Pingitore, the deputy chief of Ottawa Fire Services, told CTV Ottawa. “The incident commander ordered them to evacuate.”
The two women who died were 21 and 23-years-old.
Emergency workers found other residents of the house outside in the minus 30C cold when they first arrived at the scene, many wearing no jackets or footwear.
Neighbours, who woke up to screams and sirens, said it was a chaotic scene as the flames engulfed the house.
“One girl was running up the street, like she was hysterical, and then once the fire department got here they took of their coats and wrapped the girls,” said Wayne Hughes, who lives in the area.
Nine people were treated for hypothermia and smoke inhalation, including a pregnant 21-year-old woman, three teenagers, and a two-year-old girl. Police said everyone injured in the blaze were recovering from their injuries.
Another neighbour, Denis Demoulin, said the flames were shooting upwards from the house.
“Like maybe, I’d say a nice ten feet off the roof,” he said. “It was pretty bad.”
Fire officials say the hydrant closest to the home was not working, likely due to the cold temperatures, but that had no impact on their ability to battle the fire as they were able to quickly tap another hydrant.
The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal is investigating the blaze. The cause of the fire has not been released.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Claudia Cautillo
