A bungalow in a rural part of Ottawa has been reduced to rubble after an early morning fire on Tuesday.
Firefighters were called to the 6000 block of Snake Island Road in Osgoode for a fully engulfed blaze. Multiple 911 callers reported seeing heavy flames and smoke from the house at 4:15 a.m. A caller reported to fire communications that the roof had caved in.
Once on scene, crews were not able to do anything besides consistently douse the blaze. The fire had grown quickly due to wind, Nick DeFazio, public information officer with Ottawa fire, told CityNews in an interview. This forced firefighters to take a defensive approach, surrounding the building and trying to put out the flames before they spread.
This portion of the city does not have fire hydrants, meaning crews had to use a tanker system from a nearby water source.
“We had to set up exclusion zones to keep the firefighters safe and out of the area because walls were collapsing,” DeFazio said of the situation.
Teams also had to be mindful of propane tanks around the house, and when a vehicle caught fire.
The 5,000 square foot bungalow did not have any occupants at the time of the incident, and there were no injuries. Firefighters said flames were extremely hot as they tackled the blaze for about four hours, until it was under control at 8:15 a.m.
An Ontario fire marshal is investigating the incident.
In December 2021, crews responded to a similar scene at this address. At the time, a fire broke out and heavily damaged the home, leaving behind a similar trail of destruction.