Video shows 'heroic' Vancouver bus driver douse flames in Downtown Eastside

The driver stopped the bus on East Hastings Street just before 2 a.m. after spotting the fire outside the Les Amis du Fromage store in Vancouver on July 23, 2024. (X/@LADFcheese)

The owners of a Vancouver cheese shop say a quick-thinking transit driver prevented what could have a been a "terrible situation" after the driver noticed flames outside the business in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The driver stopped the bus on East Hastings Street just before 2 a.m. after spotting the fire outside the Les Amis du Fromage store, bus operator TransLink said in a release.

The shop's owners posted video of the incident to the social media site X, offering a "big round of applause" for the alert bus operator, who grabbed a fire extinguisher from the bus and doused the flames.

TransLink says shop co-owner Joe Chaput told the transit company the store might not have been able to open for business Tuesday if it wasn't for the driver's quick actions.

Vancouver firefighters responded to the fire at 843 East Hastings St. and ensured the blaze was contained, TransLink said, adding the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

"We appreciate and commend this bus operator's quick-thinking and heroic actions in stopping a potentially harmful situation," TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said in the release.

"Transit staff face the front lines every day and are often called upon to offer help when it’s needed and safe to do so."

All transit buses in Metro Vancouver are equipped with fire extinguishers for emergencies on and off the bus, the company added.