2 firefighters treated for heat exhaustion while fighting flames at Richmond home

Ottawa firefighters battling a fire in Ottawa west-end on July, 16 2024. (Jean Lalonde/Ottawa Fire Services)

Two Ottawa firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion after battling a fire inside the basement of a home in the city's west end on Tuesday morning.

Ottawa Fire Services say in a statement that fire crews were called after receiving a 911 call from a passerby reporting smoke coming from a large two-storey home in the 3400 block of Joys Road in the village of Richmond. The caller also reported seeing flames coming out of the basement windows.

On arrival, firefighters were met with heavy smoke conditions, "zero-visibility" conditions and extremely high heat, Ottawa Fire says.

Shortly after 10:20 a.m., firefighters had to be evacuated from the home due to the dangerous conditions. Two firefighters were assessed for heat exhaustion and were released at the scene.

Firefighters fought the fire from the outside until they were able to return into the home to search for occupants. Two full searches of the home found no one inside.

The fire was not declared under control until shortly before 11:15 a.m.

The fire was found to have come from a utility room in the basement and burnt a hole in the ceiling above and into the kitchen, but it did not extend further in the home.

A fire investigator is on-scene to determine the cause and origin of the fire.