A woman walks by a fire hydrant used to put out flames at a Chinatown house.
A three-storey house in Chinatown known to be a refuge for squatters was consumed by fire early on Wednesday morning.
Twenty emergency vehicles, including fire trucks, police cars and ambulances, were called in to respond to the blaze at 110 Arthur St., said Paul Fortin, an acting district chief at the Ottawa Police Service.
Police were first called to the scene of the fire at 5:47 a.m. Firefighters put out the last of the flames about three hours later around 8:30 a.m, he said.
The three-storey house was unoccupied, although media reports say squatters frequented the house.
At least 60 first responders – much more than usual – were on scene to battle the blaze due to awkward timing, says Fortin.
“It was at a change in shifts so we have the guys that were here from the previous day and the new crews coming in,” says Fortin.
There were no injuries. Fortin says investigators have not ruled out arson at this time.
The fire added more traffic mayhem to Centretown, where several streets were closed following a deadly crash at the intersection of Laurier Avenue and Bank Street.