A group of Victoria police officers are being hailed as heroes for rushing into a burning high-rise before firefighters could arrive Thursday morning.
Seven officers suffered smoke inhalation while rescuing residents of the Quadra Street building, where a raging fire broke out on the ninth floor around 7 a.m.
The officers were unequipped but decided to start evacuating the building anyway after seeing the extent of the blaze.
“I got out into the smoke-filled corridor, first thing I saw was policemen rushing up,” resident George Garrett said. “They were all worried about us rather than themselves.”
The officers ran inside carrying a battering ram for locked doors and proceeded up to the ninth and tenth floors, but the smoke eventually got so thick it forced them out.
Four were taken to hospital in ambulances while three others were driven there by colleagues. Only one non-police officer suffered smoke inhalation.
Their efforts were lauded by grateful residents, some of whom were forced to escape by crawling through smoke-filled hallways, and by their fellow officers.
“They’re police officers and when lives are at risk they spring into action,” Const. Cody Lapierre said.
The Victoria Police Department does not encourage officers to run into active fire scenes, he added.
“Absolutely not. We’re not trained for that, we’re not equipped for that.”
Fire crews arrived on scene shortly after police and managed to extinguish the blaze, which damaged several units.
Investigators believe it was caused by a single lit cigarette.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Scott Roberts
