Two workers seriously injured in Alta Vista highrise fire
Posted Oct 31, 2024 07:16:04 AM.
Last Updated Oct 31, 2024 09:24:19 AM.
Two people have been injured and a number of people have been left without a place to stay following a high-rise fire in Ottawa’s Atla Vista area.
Ottawa Fire Services (OFS) responded to a 15-storey building in the 1600 block of Playfair Drive shortly after 12 p.m. on Oct. 30.
The OFS Communications Division had received a call from a monitoring company reporting active alarms and crews were on scene less than five minutes later.
Firefighters confirmed that an electrical panel on the fifth floor was on fire and two workers had been seriously injured.
One fire crew brought the injured workers down to the lobby for assessment and treatment while another crew began extinguishing the fire and searching the smoke-filled hallways for residents.
It took about 20 minutes to get the fire under control and because a significant amount of smoke had made its way through the structure, firefighters began ventilation operations.
Hydro Ottawa also attended the scene and power had to be shut off to floors one through six.
There are no reported injuries to any residents and a reunification centre has been set up at St-Laurent Community Centre for anyone who has been displaced.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
