Fire in the basement of a residential building displaces six people amid stifling heat in Ottawa

Six people were forced to leave their homes after a fire broke out in the basement of a multi-unit residential building in the "Lowertown" neighborhood in downtown Ottawa, while firefighters faced difficult conditions due to high heat and humidity.

Fire teams received a report at about 4:09 PM on Tuesday, after a passerby noticed smoke rising from the back of a house located in the 400 block of George Street.

When crews arrived at the scene, thick smoke was rising from the basement door, causing significantly reduced visibility inside the building.

The first team entered carrying a water hose, before finding flames at the bottom of the stairs leading to the basement and began extinguishing them.

After controlling the visible flames, firefighters inspected the walls and ceiling to ensure the fire had not spread to hidden parts of the building, and found several hot spots that were extinguished.

The crews also searched all units of the building and confirmed that no people were trapped inside.

During the search, firefighters found a cat inside the building, took it to a safe place, and provided it with oxygen at the scene before returning it to its owner.

The fire teams declared the fire under control at 4:55 PM, less than an hour after receiving the report.

A monitoring team remained on site after extinguishing operations ended to ensure no remaining hot spots reignited or flames restarted.

The damage caused by the fire and smoke displaced six residents of the building, without disclosing when they will be able to return to their units.

The cause of the fire or the estimated value of the damages has not yet been announced.

The firefighting operation took place amid temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius and high humidity in the capital, which increased the difficulty of the physical work performed by crews inside the building while wearing heavy protective gear and breathing apparatus.

Such conditions require fire teams to rotate personnel frequently and provide rest and hydration periods to reduce the risks of heat stress and dehydration during incident response.