Up to 40 public housing residents from 14 families were homeless after a blaze engulfed two apartment buildings near the Tunney's Pasture federal government complex on Monday afternoon.

Four Ottawa firefighters leaped from the third floor of a building to escape a sudden blast of flames. The fire was mostly out by 2:30 p.m.
(CBC)

For now, the people who lived in the two newer, three-storey, townhouse-style Ottawa Community Housing Corp. buildings are safe at a nearby shelter, said corporation CEO Ron Larkin.

"Tomorrow, we'll speak directly with the families affected and we'll follow closely exactly what their accommodation requirements are," he added.

4 firefighters hurt in 3rd floor plunge

Four Ottawa firefighters were hurt when they jumped from third-floor windows after rescuing a man from the blaze.

The firefighters went into the flaming building after they saw the man waving from the third-floor window shortly after their arrival around 12:30 p.m., the fire department said.

They successfully rescued him with a ladder, but were still inside when a sudden blast of flames blocked the way they had taken into the building and forced them to jump 10 metres to safety, said Deputy Chief Bruce Montone.

One of the firefighters was treated in hospital Monday afternoon for burns, and for several broken bones, including a suspected broken pelvis, the Ottawa fire department said.

The three others sustained less serious injuries when they leaped from the top-floor windows of the building. Two of them were sent to hospital.

The fire was out by 2:30 p.m. ET.

Two other firefighters were also injured while fighting the fire.

The five-alarm fire broke out after noon, and soon fully engulfed the two buildings on Forward Avenue near Parkdale Avenue and Scott Street, firefighters said. Twenty fire trucks rushed to the scene around 12:30 p.m. 

The flames completely gutted one of the buildings and its four apartments, while the building behind it received damage mostly to its top floor.

Several roads were closed nearby.