Attempted murder, arson charges laid in Donald Street highrise fire

An Ottawa man has been charged with attempted murder and arson for a fire at an Overbrook apartment building that sent eight people to hospital and displaced dozens more.

The fire broke out on the third floor of the Donald Street tower around 6 a.m. on May 2.

Three of the eight people who ended up in hospital — two children and a woman — suffered life-threatening injuries, Ottawa paramedics said at the time.

In a news release Wednesday, Ottawa police said they'd laid nine charges against 42-year-old Saeed Mohamed:

• Three counts of attempted murder.
• Three counts of arson causing bodily harm.
• One count of arson with disregard for human life.
• One count of arson causing property damage.
• One count of possession of incendiary material.

Mohamed made a brief appearance virtually in Ottawa court Wednesday.

'We don't think that we are living in Canada'

It took crews roughly an hour to bring the fire under control and more than four hours to fully extinguish it.

• Highrise residents survey damage after 'devastating' fire
• Arson unit investigating highrise fire that sent 3 to hospital in critical condition

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney, who represents the area, said more than 250 residents sought help that day at the Overbrook Community Centre, which served as a reunification point.

"If somebody's doing [it deliberately], that's not good," said tenant Abdul Wali on Wednesday. "This is a populated area. We are living with our kids [here]."

Wali expressed concerns for families like his who live in the building and have just immigrated to Canada.

"We are worried about our family's safety, because sometimes, we don't think that we are living in Canada. Because that's what we were not expecting ... [that we would be] suffering this kind of disaster."

As of this past weekend, after a second fire in as many days — one that's not believed to be suspicious — 56 residents remained unable to come home.