Fire rips through Little Italy restaurants

A three-alarm fire in the heart of Little Italy Wednesday has left two people homeless and caused $450,000 in damage.

Fire crews were called to the building at 112 Pamilla St., on the corner of Pamilla and Preston Streets, at about 12:20 a.m. Wednesday. The two-storey building contained a restaurant and three apartments.

The blaze tore through Leonardo's Ristorante and heavily damaged the Bombay Bollywood Indian Restaurant. Flames also damaged three apartments above the restaurants.

Two people are now homeless, and the restaurant owners are trying to figure out how to rebuild. No one was hurt in the fire.

It took 54 firefighters from 19 vehicles to battle the blaze. The fire was under control by 1:40 a.m.

Damages to the building were estimated at $250,000 and $200,000 to the contents, the Ottawa Fire Service says.

Fire officials say their investigation on the cause of the fire is ongoing.