One man suffers minor burns in high rise inferno in Little Italy

By Mike Vlasveld

The Ottawa Fire Service is investigating a fire at a condo building under construction on Champagne Avenue at Carling Avenue.

One man in his 30s suffered minor burns to his neck. No other injuries have been reported.

Construction workers on the scene said flames started in a garbage chute which ran up the side of the building, but Acting Chief Kim Ayotte said it was too early in the investigation to confirm those details.

The building, owned by Ashcroft, was slated to be open in September. The Envie, Capital Hall building offers apartments for student living. 

Ashcroft CFO, Manny Difilippo told 1310 NEWS that he was in total shock when he saw the building. 

“Presumably accidents happen on work sites and we'll have to assess the nature of the damage and continue from there,” he said.  

The response from Ottawa Fire was major as it was declared a 3-alarm blaze. 

Acting Chief Ayotte explained that between 40 and 50 firefighters and anywhere from 16 to 18 trucks were on the scene Monday afternoon. 

Three ladder trucks were being used to douse the flames on the west side of the building but they were unable to reach the top floors of the 26-storey building. 

“We went inside the building on every floor and did a check for occupants and made sure that we cleared every floor,” Ayotte explained. “Started putting out the spot fires because the fire was working its way in through the openings.”

Police officers have blocked off roads in the area.

The Ottawa Police Service has also closed Hickory Street between Loretta Avenue and Champagne Avenue.

There has been no word on the extent of damage.

The fire was first reported around 11:45 a.m., Monday.

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