Otttawa Construction News staff writer
A massive fire destroyed an under-construction apartment building in Ottawa’s Northside Road area on April 1.
Firefighters were called at 4:38 a.m. by a monitoring company reporting active fire alarms at the site in the 0-100 block of Northside Road. Ottawa Paramedics, already in the area, confirmed the presence of smoke and flames coming from the structure.
The five-storey, unoccupied apartment building—constructed with mass timber—was already fully engulfed in smoke and flames. Due to strong winds, embers were carried through the area, increasing the risk of nearby structures, including a church and the Davidson Hearing Aid Centre, catching fire.
Ottawa Fire Services declared a third alarm at 4:57 a.m., deploying additional resources. Firefighters worked to protect the nearby buildings, using multiple hose lines and aerial ladders to attack the flames from all sides. However, the structure’s instability posed significant risks, with fears that it might collapse at any moment.
At 5:45 a.m., the building collapsed, sending debris onto a smaller one-storey structure, which also became fully engulfed in flames. However, firefighters managed to protect the church and Davidson Hearing Aid Centre from the blaze.
The building, named The Level at Bells Corners, is Rohit’s inaugural project in the Ottawa market. On the company’s website the project is described as a five-storey, 51-unit purpose-built rental complex featuring wood frame construction.
Current Ontario building codes allow a maximum height of six storeys for wood frame buildings, although newer materials like gypsum-protected cross-laminated timber are gaining traction for enabling taller constructions.
The investigation continues.
