Two people have been taken to hospital, two cats are dead and another cat is missing following an early morning house fire in Orléans.
The Ottawa Fire Services says 9-1-1 received a call at approximately 3:40 a.m., reporting a fire in a townhouse on Harvest Valley Avenue.
“The caller reported multiple occupants were outside, some in the backyard and some in the front, with the occupants in the back needing help to get out standing barefoot in the cold,” Ottawa fire spokesperson Nick DeFazio said.
By the time firefighters had arrived on scene, the fire had spread to an adjoining townhouse and was at risk of spreading to another home.
“Firefighters helped all the occupants out of the backyard and initiated a fast attack advancing a hose line toward the structure,” DeFazio said.
Photos posted on social media showed the fire damage spread from the first floor to the second floor of a townhouse.
Residents reported that three cats were missing from inside the home where the fire started.
“Firefighters completed two full searches of the fire unit and both townhomes attached to the fire unit and no occupants were found,” DeFazio said.
“Two of the three cats were found and both had no vital signs. Firefighters brought them outside and gave them oxygen and began resuscitation efforts but, unfortunately, both succumbed to their injuries.”
The third cat was still missing.
Paramedics treated four people at the scene for injuries.
An Ottawa Paramedic Service spokesperson told CTV News Ottawa a man treated for smoke inhalation and burns was taken to hospital in serious but stable condition. A woman treated for smoke inhalation was also taken to hospital.
Two people were treated and released at the scene.
Ottawa fire says the four occupants of the home where the fire started will be displaced, and two people living in an adjoining unit may be displaced due to the damage.
There is no word on the cause of the fire.