Two workers were injured in a highrise fire on Wednesday afternoon and tenants from several of the building’s floors have been displaced.
Ottawa Fire Services was called to a 15-storey building on the 1600 block of Playfair Drive in Alta Vista shortly after noon. They found a fifth-floor electrical panel on fire and put the blaze out.
Two workers were seriously injured in the fire and treated by firefighters, according to the fire service’s post on X.
Ottawa Paramedic Service told CBC via email the two men were working on an electrical panel “when there was an arc and both [men] sustained serious burns but were not electrocuted.”
No residents reported injuries.
A large amount of smoke coursed through the building, requiring extensive ventilation. Power was shut off to the first six floors.
An unspecified number of residents are displaced because of the fire, though it’s not clear if that’s due to smoke and fire damage, the power situation, or a combination of factors.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.