Ottawa firefighters respond to 2 e-bike fires in 10 hours

Ottawa firefighters responded to two e-bike fires in 10 hours. CTV’s Matt Skube has the details.

Ottawa firefighters responded to two fires caused by e-bikes in the space of approximately 10 hours overnight.

Two people are displaced after e-bikes caught fire in a home on Bronson Avenue.

Firefighters were called at around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday to the 300-block of Bronson near Somerset Street West on reports of black smoke coming from the two-storey home that is divided into four apartments.

Two people were found inside the home and taken outside to be treated by Ottawa paramedics for smoke inhalation.

A third person was taken to hospital due to medical complications, paramedics said.

Firefighters found the burning e-bikes and brought them outside, but the flames had already spread to the second floor, requiring some of the ceiling to be torn down to deal with embers in the attic.

“A person was working on their e-bike, the battery was already damaged, it got heated and caused a fire,” said Ottawa Fire Services spokesperson Nick DeFazio.

The fire was declared under control at 10:21 p.m.

Second e-bike fire Thursday morning

A second fire caused by an e-bike was reported Thursday morning in a storage unit on City Centre Avenue.

Firefighters received a call at 7:12 a.m. from a monitoring agency about alarms going off in a commercial building and arrived within three minutes. They found black smoke in the ceiling and activated sprinklers.

Firefighters forced entry into the unit and immediately saw electric scooters and bike parts. They emptied the locker and extinguished some remaining smouldering clothing.

The fire was under control by 7:28 a.m. No one was reported hurt.

Garage fire on Shefford Road

Ottawa firefighters also responded to a garage fire east of downtown Wednesday night.

Several 9-1-1 calls reported smoke and flames coming from a detached double garage on Shefford Road near Canotek Road at around 9:48 p.m.

No one was inside the garage, but firefighters found heavy flames when they forced open the side door. The fire had spread to the roof by the time firefighters arrived.

The fire was under control by 10:36 p.m. and did not spread to the home. No one was reported hurt.

The cause of this fire has not been determined.

Ottawa Fire Services says they have battled 13 fires in the last seven days.