Ottawa police have reopened a section of Rochester Street between Gladstone Avenue and Poplar Street after a house fire in the early morning of March 21 left 10 Centretown residents homeless.
They responded to a call in the 200 block of Rochester Street around 5:45 a.m.
The building housed a family of eight on the main level and couple with a cat and dog on the second floor, said Marc Messier with the Ottawa Fire Services. They woke up and were able to escape after they heard passersby screaming outside.
Everyone escaped uninjured, according to Ottawa paramedics.
However, Messier said the cat did not make it out alive. It was later found on the second floor.
There are few details about the cause of the fire since it is currently under investigation, said Messier. However he did say it might have started outside since the fire spread to the inside of the homes through an exterior wall.
There was extensive fire damage in the upper apartment and to an attached garage. Heavy smoke damaged the second floor apartment and the main floor suffered minor water damage.
Ottawa Fire Services estimate that there is about $350,000 worth of damages.
The Salvation Army and Red Cross say they will assist the occupants.