Two neighbours helped save a woman from an early morning fire in the Deep Cove area of North Vancouver on Monday.
District of North Vancouver firefighters received multiple 911 calls at around 2 a.m. with reports of a structure fire.
"We actually have a fire station a block away, while the first incoming fire truck was en route, they actually noticed significant smoke and flames coming from the roof of the house,” said Asst. Fire Chief David Dales.
Neighbour Butch Lima, a former firefighter, says he thought the noise was initially coming from the pub nearby.
But when he and a fellow neighbour investigated, they saw the woman leaving her home.
"We brought her into our home here, and sat her down. She had bad burns to her hands and her feet so we cooled them down with cool rags," said Lima. "Her hair was just hard cause she'd been in some pretty high heat."
Part of their job, Lima says, was to stop the woman from heading back into the blaze.
"She wanted to go back into the house and we made sure she didn't," he said.
But Lima is quick to point out he only did what he believes good neighbours should do.
"Being neighbours, you just want to do the best you can and help wherever."
There are also several family pets that have gone missing and are unaccounted for.
Mt Seymour Parkway was closed for several hours as firefighters had laid hose lines across the road.
Fire investigators were on scene throughout the morning to determine a cause of the fire.
