Ottawa Fire Services says an elderly occupant was found dead following a fire that broke out in a large single-family house in Ottawa’s west end Saturday evening.
Multiple firefighters were injured while attempting to rescue the resident, crews say.
Firefighters told CTV News Ottawa they received a call shortly before 5 p.m., reporting a single-family home on fire in the 0-100 block of Swilken Burn.
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When crews arrived at the scene, they confirmed that the garage and the house were fully engulfed in flames. That was when they declared a working fire to request additional resources. They then immediately started fighting the fire.
Due to dangerous conditions, firefighters were evacuated out of the home at 5:13 p.m.
“There were reports of an elderly occupant inside the home who was unable to evacuate. Firefighters courageously attempted to get inside the structure to make a rescue. Due to the extreme heat, firefighters were evacuated out of the structure. Sadly, the resident perished in the fire,” firefighters said on X.
Firefighters were forced to fight the fire from the exterior, taking a defensive attack. It was declared under control at 9:48 p.m.
The city’s fire service says multiple firefighters sustained minor injuries.
Paramedics say they were called to help three patients. Two men, a 35-year-old and a 40-year-old, were assessed at the scene for minor injuries. They were not transported to hospital. The third patient refused to get assessed, paramedics add.
Firefighters add that Victim Services was also dispatched to the scene.
People were asked to avoid the area.
The Ottawa Police Service told CTV News Ottawa in an email officers were also at the scene and area road closures were in place.
The investigation into what led to the fire is ongoing.
Sujatha Kumaraswami, a witness to the fire, tells CTV News Ottawa she saw the flames when she was walking her dog, as she was coming back home.
“The sky was actually black, like black fumes. It was as far as three kilometers,” she said.
“And I’ve lived here for over 20 years. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Kumaraswami says crews did a phenomenal job to prevent the fire from spreading into neighbouring homes.
“I thought it’s going to get worse,” Kumaraswami added.
Mustafa Elevi said, “I looked out of the window, and I just saw big smoke coming out. Then a couple of minutes later, we turned around and just heard like, explosion and then there was more smoke, and it got darker and darker.”
Elevi added, “My heart goes out to them. To the family, to everybody in the neighbourhood, I think everybody is shocked. Everybody is in disbelief that something like that would happen in this neighbourhood.”
Paul Hutt, chief of Ottawa fire, took to X to support to the community.
“On behalf of the Ottawa Fire Services, I would like to send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the resident who perished in the fire yesterday on Swilken Burn in the City’s West end,” Hutt said.
“Our thoughts are with everyone in our community who is affected by this tragedy.”
With files from CTV New Ottawa’s Kimberley Johnson and Austin Lee
We are on scene for a 2nd alarm fire in the 0-100 block of Swilken Burn.
— Ottawa Fire Services (@OttFire) March 1, 2025
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