Fast action saved a life, and home

City worker Bryan Raymond was collecting garbage early Wednesday morning along Dunsmuir Way when he saw smoke billowing from the front of a home.

Leaping out of his truck, Bryan ran up and banged on the door. He got no response.

Flames were licking the left side of the door’s alcove and the smoke was thick. It was difficult to tell how much of the house was on fire.

Bryan spotted a man on the road with a cellphone.

“Is anyone inside?” he yelled.

The man didn’t know, so Bryan leaned back and kicked the door in. From the door jamb he started yelling into the home. Stepping back, he realized the house was a duplex.

He started pounding on the adjacent door.

A shocked Claire Copp appeared in her upper window to see Bryan frantically waving her out of the home, and yelling to call 911.

As Claire raced downstairs, Bryan ran back to the other door and met a 14-year-old boy on his way out of the house.

Barefoot in jeans and a T-shirt, the teen seemed disoriented.

“I need to get my shoes,” he said.

“Is anybody else inside?” asked Bryan.

The boy responded he thought his mom might be home.

Running into the house and up the stairs, Bryan flung open any door he could find. Not seeing anything he ran back outside.

As he exited the house, he tripped on the garden hose Claire was using to try and battle the fire.

Fire crews arrived to find Claire had practically extinguished the blaze herself.

Later Wednesday morning fire officials went public with their kudos to Bryan and Claire for their quick thinking.

The pair did a “fantastic” job, said fire prevention officer Capt. Steve Oldroyd.

By alerting the home’s occupants, Bryan ensured no loss of life or injuries to the home’s residents, while Claire single handedly saved her neighbour’s home and her own.

However, no one should ever battle a fire if it puts their lives at risk, Oldroyd stressed.

Bryan, who continued with his workday after the fire, was pleased with the fire department’s praise.

He was a little concerned about what his wife’s response might be when she heard about the risks he’d taken. She took it OK though, and was even a little proud, he said.

He also hoped the home’s owners wouldn’t be mad he kicked their door in.

Claire and her neighbour Debbie dismissed the idea.

“Good for him,” said Claire.

The pair are profoundly grateful Bryan came along when he did.

When the two women heard the fire was suspicious – deliberately started either in a shoe or by fireworks – Claire was furious.

In her mind, the act was nothing short of attempted murder.

Abbotsford Police are investigating, but she’s not confident they’ll be able to catch the culprit.

She’s arranged to have an expensive security camera installed.

The house is not only her home, she also runs her business out of it.

“Thank heavens the garbage man was out there. Two minutes more and the house would be up in flames,” she said.

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