A man living on the 14th floor of a Donald Street apartment building has died of the injuries he suffered in an overnight fire.

Ottawa Fire Services said they were called to the 21-storey building at 251 Donald St., east of the Vanier Parkway, at about 2:30 a.m.

The fire started in a unit on the 14th floor of the Ottawa Community Housing building, leading to multiple people being rescued and one person being injured, according to firefighters.

When firefighters burst into that apartment, they found the man on the floor, said Ottawa Fire Services Deputy Chief Sean Tracey.

Late Friday morning, police said a 63-year-old man had died. His name was not released.

"Our thoughts are with the family and the loved ones of the person who perished in this tragic fire and the entire community during this difficult time," wrote Ottawa Community Housing's Jennifer McIntosh in a statement.

'Generous heart'

"I knew him well, well enough for him to come in every day and ask me if I needed something [from] the store," said Richard Saumier, a resident on the 14th floor.

"He was a generous heart. He tried to help everybody."

Saumier described his friend, who he's known for more than seven years as "kind and fun."

"I was wishing he didn't suffer. I'm still wishing it."

Richard Saumier describes the man who lived in the unit that caught fire as someone with a generous heart. (Kimberley Molina/CBC)

Liette Savage was a close friend of the man, and said he'd been at her apartment just hours before the fire broke out.

She said he'd often sleep on the balcony because it was cooler there than in the apartment, and wondered if that affected his ability to escape.

Savage described him as a "happy fellow" who laughed a lot and always wanted to help others.

"I'm going to miss that," she said.

'Lot of smoke'

Rachelle Nfund lives in the unit beside the one that caught fire.

"I was sleeping and then heard someone knocking on the door," she said in a French interview.

She opened her door and saw smoke coming from under her neighbour's door. She said she tried knocking on his door because she knew he was home but he didn't answer.

"There was a lot of smoke."

Rachelle Nfund lives in the unit beside the one that caught fire. She says she could see smoke streaming from under the door and tried knocking, but the man didn't respond. (Kimberley Molina/CBC)

People living on the 14th floor are unable to return home for the moment, firefighters said, with about 20 people getting assistance from services including the Red Cross.

Nfund said Ottawa Community Housing is putting residents of the 14th floor up in a hotel for the night.

Ottawa Community Housing said in a statement it doesn't know when those people will be able to return home.

The fire left its mark on the side of the building. (Kimberley Molina/CBC)

The cause of the fire and how much damage it caused have not yet been determined.

The Office of the Fire Marshal and Ottawa police are investigating.

A major fire in December in this building left all 230 people living there at the time homeless for a few days, with the cause eventually traced to a second-floor electrical room.