Two high-rise kitchen fires leave destruction in apartments
Posted Mar 5, 2026 12:49:39 PM.
Last Updated Mar 5, 2026 03:19:02 PM.
A pot on the stove was the blame in one of the destructive high-rise kitchen fires crews tackled this week.
Firefighters were called to two blazes originating in the kitchens in two days, and were able to prevent further spread to other apartments. The first incident happened at 7:25 a.m. Tuesday, when a 911 caller said there was a fire in the 2000 block of Draper Avenue.
Within three minutes, teams were at the building and could see black smoke coming from a fifth-floor balcony. They quickly arrived at the unit and found “heavy smoke and flames.”
They extinguished the fire while another group searched the unit. No people were found inside, but the teams did find a cat in the bathtub, which was taken outside and given oxygen.
Flames were doused by 7:42 a.m. Smoke was wafted out of the building using fans, and people could return to their units, the release details.
Three adults are displaced as a result of the blaze.
Then on Wednesday, around 11:03 a.m., crews were called to a different apartment building, this time in the 700 block of Springland Drive.
The caller said they weren’t sure if anyone was inside the unit that was on fire.
Crews came and went to the sixth floor and found black smoke in the hallways leading up to the apartment.
When they entered the unit, they found a pot had been left on the stove. They doused the flames and had it under control by 11:50 a.m.
The person who lived there had burns to their hands and was treated by firefighters in the lobby before paramedics took over.
Two more searches were done and no one else was inside.
In this incident, Ottawa police attended the scene.
