Vancouver fire officials say a fatal house fire in the city's West Side could have been a lot worse if not for the "heroic deeds" of some Good Samaritans next door.
The fire broke out at about 9 p.m. Sunday in the 4400-block of West 6th Avenue.
Dr. Susan O'Reilly, who lives next door, and three friends visiting from Calgary had just returned home from watching the Olympic Closing Ceremony when they saw the blaze.
They rushed into the burning home.
"Your eyes don't believe what they're seeing," O'Reilly told CTV News later. "Every second felt like a minute. Time stood still. It all feels like it's happening in slow motion."
The neighbours were able to get a 94-year-old woman and her grandson-in-law out of the house and to safety.
However, they were unable to rescue the woman's 38-year-old granddaughter.
The heat and smoke were just too intense.
"I knew her granddaughter. It's a tragedy for them. She's lost her house and her granddaughter," O'Reilly said.
Vancouver fire Capt. Gabe Roder said the two survivors were taken to hospital where they were treated for smoke inhalation and burns.
Roder said investigators determined that the fire was accidental.
With files from CTV British Columbia's Jon Woodward
