6 fires in Ottawa between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day

The last thing you want during the holidays is for your house to go up in smoke and flames but kitchen and house fires and more common at this time of year. Ottawa Fire Services were busy the last few days, responding to six different fires between Dec. 24 and 26.

The first call came in around 7:50 a.m. and firefighters responded to the 80 block of Alberni St. in Barrhaven. Multiple callers had reported fire in an attached garage.

Upon arrival at the single-family home, firefighters confirmed heavy smoke and flames coming form the garage.

After completing two searches of the residence, firefighters found no occupants inside.

The fire was declared under control an hour later at 8:50 a.m. and air quality was monitored before residents were allowed back inside.

Firefighters swiftly protected nearby structures and the fire was extinguished before it could spread.

OFS responded to another call later in the afternoon in Southgate.

Early in the morning of Dec. 25, a call came in from a monitoring agency that there was a fire in a garage at the 300 block of Selene Way in Orléans.

Firefighters arrived just after 4:00 a.m. and confirmed there was black smoke and flames coming out of the attached garage. Acting fast with a hose inside the structure, the fire was declared under control at 4:15 a.m.

An Ottawa Fire Services Investigator was dispatched to the scene to determine the cause and origin of the fire.

Less than four hours later, a call was made through 9-1-1 to report a chair on fire in the basement of a duplex at the 600 block of Mutual St. in Rockcliffe.

When first responders arrived shortly before 8:00 a.m., it was confirmed that smoke was showing from the side of the structure and a working fire was declared to dispatch more resources to the scene.

After two full searches, no occupants were found inside the building. An OC Transpo bus was dispatched to the scene to provide shelter for residences.

The fire was declared under control at 8:08 a.m. and air quality was monitored before anyone was allowed back inside.

Victim Services was dispatched to the scene and a “fire watch” was set up to have a truck remain on scene to monitor any flare ups.

The next day, two more calls came in from uncontrollable flames in fireplaces.

At 1:46 a.m. a 9-1-1 call reported a fire remaining in a chimney even after it was attempted to be put out. Upon arrival, nothing was visible from the outside of the bungalow, but firefighters confirmed flames in the living room.

Firefighters initiated a fast attack with a hose line through the structure and the fire was declared under control at 2:27 a.m.

The fire was contained to the area and did not spread throughout the house.

Around 5:30 p.m. that evening, a similar call came in from the area of West Carleton. The caller reported there was lots of smoke in the home coming from the fireplace.

Firefighters responded to the 200 block of John Aselford Drwy and confirmed a light haze inside the living room.

A working fire was declared and a hose line was led through the structure. Firefighters used a water shuttle system as the structure was located in an area with no fire hydrants.

High pressurized fans were used to ventilate residual smoke and air quality was monitored before residents were allowed back inside.

“Fires don’t take holidays,” Ottawa Fire Chief Paul Hutt wrote in a post on X. “Take five minutes, grab a broom stick and push the ‘test button’ on your smoke alarms. It could save your life.”