Firefighter injured in Christmas Day barn fire

An empty barn in Ottawa's rural south end collapsed in a fire on Christmas Day, leaving one firefighter with minor injuries.

Ottawa Fire Services said firefighters got called to the 6200 block of Fourth Line Road at 3:40 p.m. yesterday, after a neighbour reported the barn was "engulfed in flames."

When they arrived, firefighters could see black smoke from a distance and that the structure was burning on all sides.

In a statement to CBC, Ottawa fire Chief Paul Hutt said crews were dispatched from North Gower, Richmond, Osgoode and Barrhaven to fight the blaze. 

No one was in the barn at the time of the fire, Hutt said, and no animals were on site. He said the barn had not been in operation for many years.

There were no fire hydrants in the area, so firefighters used a tanker truck to transport water from the nearest fill site, Hutt said — something that's standard practice across rural Ottawa. 

A hydro line came down while firefighters were putting out the fire, "creating an additional hazard for crews," the fire department said.

While one firefighter sustained minor injuries, no one else was hurt.