Residents at a Vancouver homeless camp prevented a dangerous situation from turning deadly on Saturday when some fast-acting neighbours put out a fire that started in one of the tents.
Around 11 a.m., something in the Powell Street camp sparked a fire in one of the tents. Ward Ferguson was one of two camp residents who responded.
"Apparently some lady was walking by and she yelled fire," he told CTV News. "It was going pretty good by the time we got there."
The man that lives in the tent had left minutes before the fire started.
Ferguson said after dumping a couple of gallons of water on the flames and using fire extinguishers they were able to nearly put it out by the time the fire department showed up.
No one was injured but the man's tent was damaged.
"It burnt the corner of his tent, the bed and the dressing cabinet," said Ferguson.
The residents of the camp are being evicted next week, and most residents plan to move on to a shelter or set up a new camp. Ferguson says the man may have been lucky since his belongings were packed up for the impending move.
