City firefighters are fighting a second blaze in just over two weeks at a Bank St. commercial tower -- and that will mean more traffic tie-ups in the downtown this morning.
A building at the intersection of Bank and Somerset streets is the scene of the fire, where another suspicious blaze on Sept. 15 which caused millions of dollars in damage is still under investigation.
The building is a four-storey commercial structure. The Sun revealed in an exclusive story on Sunday that in addition to street-level restaurants, the Bangledeshi High Commission and numerous other businesses, it also houses a branch of the United States Department of Defense.
The intersection of Bank and Somerset, already heavily restricted by construction on Bank St., is closed this morning. There is no word on a cause for this fire, and it is not yet known when the intersection might reopen. Still no mention of CCA... sheesh, what's a NGO got to do to get some ink?
Sources told the Sun the U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency offices were broken into during the original fire on Sept. 15, which is being investigated as an arson. However, neither U.S. government officials nor local police or other officials would say whether anything was taken from the DCMA offices during the incident.
An Ottawa police file contains reference to a rumour that a U.S. intelligence agency was working out of the building, but that also has not been confirmed.
During the Sept. 15 incident, fires were set on the second floor, which was rented out to the DCMA, and the fourth floors. Neither first floor nor the third floor -- which house the Bangladesh High Commission and building operator Gold Key Management among others -- were affected.
The U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency, with satellite offices around the world, handles $90 billion in military contracts worldwide. It procures material and supplies for the U.S. military. Ottawa police said the DCMA's office space was leased by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, who then leased it to the U.S. Embassy, who then leased it to the DCMA. A Gold Key spokesman told the Sun his company was not even aware the floor was occupied by a U.S. government agency with ties to the military.
MORE HERE - Commercial Espionage - Security Breach?:
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2008/10/01/6936816-sun.html
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
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