Both southbound lanes of Bank Street were closed Tuesday evening after a fire broke out in a six-storey condo building across the street from Lansdowne Park.
Ottawa Fire Service responded to a 911 call at 7:49 p.m. after a passerby noticed smoke and flames pouring from a third-storey unit on the north side of the building at 1014 Bank Street.
Firefighters arrived on scene four minutes later, forced open the locked door of the unit, and encountered heavy smoke and flames. They quickly extinguished the blaze and confirmed that no one was home.
More than one dozen emergency vehicles were on the scene Tuesday night.
Ottawa Fire Service said the unit appeared to be undergoing renovations, and a fire investigator was on scene to determine the cause of the fire. No one was injured.
The 25-unit building was considered a green showpiece while it was under construction 12 years ago as it featured geothermal heating, rooftop gardens, low-flow toilets and sustainably harvested building materials. But the development, known as EcoCite on the Canal, went into debt and was ultimately seized by its mortgage company before being resold.
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