An improperly discarded cigarette that fell through a trap door is being blamed for a basement fire in a ByWard Market building Monday night.
The Ottawa Fire Services says it received several 9-1-1 calls just before 9:30 p.m., reporting black smoke coming from a business on William Street, near George Street.
Firefighters confirmed black smoke was coming from the two-storey building that houses Beans and Barrels café and lounge.
“(The cigarette) happened to roll underneath the trap door onto combustibles in the basement,” said Ottawa Fire Services assistant division chief Jimmy D. Fata.
“Thank goodness to the 911 caller that actually called it in because it was roughly around 9:30 at night. So, if it wasn’t for her call, if this was a little later, probably would have lost potentially the building.”
“Operations did an amazing job of not only containing the fire to the unit but containing the fire to the actual point of origin.”
No one was injured in the fire. The damage is estimated at around $100,000, Ottawa Fire says.
Some neighbouring businesses sustained smoke damage and with hydro still shut off, remain closed as of Wednesday.
Improperly discarded smoking materials is one of the top two preventable causes of a fire in Ottawa along with unattended cooking, according to firefighters.