16 people displaced following Vanier apartment fire

Sixteen people are displaced from their homes after a fire spread through their low-rise building. CTV’s Austin Lee reports.

Sixteen people have been displaced following an early morning fire at an apartment building in Vanier.

The Ottawa Fire Services said 9-1-1 received a call at 5:10 a.m., reporting a fire in the basement of a two-storey building on St. Denis Street.

Firefighters arrived on the scene three minutes after the initial call.

“Crews initiated a fast attack and advanced a hose line to the rear of the building, where they could access the unit,” Nick DeFazio, Ottawa Fire Services Public Information Officer, said.

“Firefighters were met with heavy flames at the back entrance extending down into the basement. A crew entering from the front was also met with flames advancing up the stairs toward the upper floors.”

No occupants were found inside the home.

DeFazio said two cats were rescued from the second floor of the building.

“We don’t know what to do. We are like, where are we going to find another house? Where are we going to live tomorrow? How are we going to get another apartment? I don’t know,” said Leonel Kitio, who is now displaced along with his young family.

Kitio lives in one of the basement units with his wife and their three children: an eleven-month-old, a four-year-old and a six-year-old.

His mother was also visiting and staying with him at the time of the fire, and he says they evacuated the building with haste.

“My mother, she carried one of the babies, my wife carried another baby, I took the last one and out. Nothing else,” he said. “In one minute, we did something we did not know we could do in one minute.”

Photos posted to social media by Ottawa Fire Services photographer Scott Stilborn showed smoke billowing out of the back of the building, and firefighters extending a hose into the building.

Eleven adults and five children living in the building will be displaced following the fire.

No injuries were reported.

Importance of smoke alarms, closing doors

Fire officials are once again stressing the importance of working smoke alarms, which in this case, likely saved lives.

“If there wasn’t a working smoke alarm, these residents wouldn’t have made it out,” said DeFazio.

“No one will be returning. The fire travelled right up the stairwell and damaged multiple units. Everyone from this apartment building is displaced.”

On top of working smoke alarms, DeFazio is also highlighting the impact closed doors can have in preventing flames from spreading.

“The difference closing a door before you leave can have is enormous. We know that when people are leaving and there’s a fire in their apartment it’s hard to remember this, but closing a door on your way out of any type of fire makes a big difference to prevent fire spread,” he said.

“We remind residents with young children and even for the adults: at night, close your door before you go to sleep and make sure you have working smoke alarms in all of your bedrooms.”

The cause of the fire is now under investigation.

Fairmont Avenue fire

No one was hurt in a fire in a detached garage at a home on Fairmont Avenue.

Firefighters responding to a 9-1-1 call reported heavy smoke visible from a distance as they were travelling to the fire.

DeFazio said nearby buildings were at risk, including the Merry Dairy food truck.

“Crews initiated a fast attack, advancing hose lines to knock down the flames while protecting the exposures. Firefighters cut power to the garage, gained access inside, and quickly extinguished the blaze,” DeFazio said.

The fire did not spread to nearby properties.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Austin Lee