About 100 CTV Ottawa staff gathered Monday morning to assess the damage and give a standing ovation to the man who helped firefighters limit the destruction caused by a devastating fire early Sunday at the Merivale Road studios.
Building supervisor Mark Leighton received the tribute from staff gathered in the Ottawa Citizen’s conference room to discuss how to move forward after the fire destroyed their newsroom.
Leighton, who is in his 30th year at CTV Ottawa, said he arrived at the scene shortly after being called about the 4:14 a.m. Sunday blaze.
After speaking with police and the fire department, he waited to be let inside to shut down services to the building to make it safe for firefighters.
He told firefighters what was critical to save, and led them through the building, covering up important equipment as he went to protect it from the water pouring in.
He even picked up the master tapes that allowed CTV to broadcast Monday morning.
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Stock news footage, some archival footage, personal items, cameras and other vital equipment were lost, but Douville said Monday that thousands of historical broadcasts are safe. The station will now begin the process of rebuilding as much of its news archive as possible.
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