Origin of Stittsville south fire that heavily damaged Aridus Crescent home being investigated

(An early morning January 20, 2022 Stittsville fire on Aridus Crescent has left a family homeless and is being investigated to determine the cause and origin. All photos compliments of Ottawa Fire Services.)

Multiple 911 calls started coming in to the Ottawa Fire Communications Division on January 20 beginning at 5:30am. It was reported that the garage of a single family home was on fire on Aridus Crescent, off of Hickstead Way, in a newly developed neighbourhood in Stittsville south.

A 911 caller reported that two adults were still in the single family home, while another 911 call reported that a car, motorcycle and a BBQ and propane were inside the garage.

As the firefighters responded, they could see flames from the distance. At 5:36am enroute to the fire, a ‘working fire’ was called in that summoned additional fire apparatus to the scene. Arriving on scene at 5:37am, the first crew confirmed that the home and vehicles were fully engulfed in smoke and flames.

There is only six feet between the homes on either side – the protection of the neighbouring homes became a priority. The fire crews being putting water on each side home and the residents were also ordered to be evacuated.

Due to the heavy winds, the fire had spread to a neighbouring home and a second alarm was administered at 5:45am for more fire vehicles to attend the fire. Fire crews confirmed that all homes no longer had occupants inside at 5:52am.

OC Transpo buses were called to the scene to keep the fire crews warm as their air tanks were filled. The city was called in with steamers as the street catch basins had frozen over due to the freezing temperatures and the amount of water used – they were required to be opened up to clear the street from the flooding.

By 8:06am, the fires, the original fire home and the exposed second home, were deemed under control. The second home had been protected by the fire crews, in turn saving the home.

Crews stayed on the scene to ensure all of the hot spots were extinguished and to ensure no flare-ups occurred, with heavy equipment being called in to assist in the moving the residual debris.

A fire investigator was called to the site to the determine the cause and origin of the fire. Everyone was fortunate that there were no reported injuries.

Below is a video of the fire on Aridus, compliments of the Ottawa Fire Service:

Logo, company name

Description automatically generatedVideo from the scene courtesy of Ottawa Fire Services: https://twitter.com/OttFire/status/1484173522024992768

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