Crews knock down two fires that caused minimal damage

Ottawa firefighters tackled two fires in less than two hours, both of which caused minimal damage.

The first incident happened around 7:04 p.m. when residents called 911 reporting a fire in their oven. Officials responded to the 600 block of Taliesin Crescent in the new Stittsville subdivision.

Once there, firefighters confirmed everyone had left the home. Smoke was seen coming from the front door and alarms were going off inside.

Officials initiated a fast attack, bringing a hose through the home and into the kitchen where they found open flames inside the oven. The water quickly doused the blaze and it was contained to the appliance.

Teams searched the rest of the home and used a thermal imaging camera to check for any fire extension behind the wall; none were found.

High-pressure fans were used to ventilate the house until the owners could return.

In a release, firefighters said the action of the residents inside the home helped prevent the blaze from spreading.

“When a fire occurs inside an oven, residents are reminded to leave the oven door closed and shut off the power. Opening the door introduces oxygen, which can cause the fire to grow rapidly,” officials said.

At 8:28 p.m., firefighters in the Alta Vista neighbourhood were called to a high-rise building for smoke.

A resident inside an apartment in the 1800 block of Frobisher Lane called 911 to report smoke in their unit. Minutes later the building’s monitoring agency confirmed active alarms in the building.

When crews arrived people were evacuating the building. They found heavy smoke in the lobby and traced it back to a unit on the first floor.

Entering inside they found flames in the bedroom. Quickly, they were able to extinguish them and contain the fire to the bedroom.

Despite dousing the fire within 11 minutes, the occupant of the unit will be displaced. The rest of the building was able to return after extensive ventilation efforts from firefighters.