'Green liquid' pouring on Queen Street contained by firefighters

An Ottawa firefighter pouring absorbent onto a leak stemming from a building in the downtown core. (OFS/X)

Ottawa firefighters contained a large leak that was pouring out of a building and onto the street in the city's downtown core on Tuesday morning.

Ottawa Fire Services say on social media that they received a call reporting active alarms in the 200 block of Queen Street at approximately 7 a.m. and found about 500 litres of liquid had leaked out of an HVAC system from the roof of a multi-storey building.

Ottawa Fire Services dispatched its hazmat team and brought in a large amount of absorbent to contain leak, which was pouring on the sidewalk and into a parking garage.

A "diking system" was set up to control the movement of the liquid to keep it from not going into the sewers. Hydro Ottawa and a vacuum truck were also called to the scene.

The spill was contained and cleared by around 9:15 a.m. and left in control with the building's management.

Ottawa Fire says the "green liquid" was confirmed to be a proprietary coolant solution.

"It had no adverse effects on anyone on scene and anyone who came into contact with it was able to wash it off with water," Ottawa Fire Services said on X.

While on scene, a worker fell from a ladder eight feet from the ground and sustained injuries, Ottawa Fire added. The Ottawa Paramedic Service was called to assess the worker.