'He saved us'

By Scott NeufeldTuesday, October 31, 2006 http://www.dailycourier.ca/article_669.php
Three Ace Courier employees are crediting an alert delivery driver with saving their lives after a blaze gutted the office where they worked.Bob Ward, a dispatcher at Ace Courier Services on Waddington Drive, said he and two other employees had no idea that flames were spreading across the roof of their office – when suddenly one of the company’s drivers burst into the office.“The driver came running in saying he could hear crackling in the roof,” he said. “We busted out the fire extinguisher but the fire had gone across the roof so we said, ‘let’s get out of here.’”Rob, the driver of the truck, said he didn’t want to leave his last name because he did not want to be a celebrity. He said he saw a small fire on the roof and wanted to make sure that everyone in the building could get out safely.“I just pulled up and saw like a little two foot fire on the left hand side of the warehouse,” he said. “The three people inside got out no problem.”Ward said without that warning he’s not sure if they would have escaped the building in time.“He saved us,” Ward said.The fire was reported at about 4:45 p.m. on Monday and burned out the inside of the building, continuing to flame until after press time. Firefighters had surrounded the building but did not move in because of the intense heat.Two ladder mounted hoses attacked the fire from above while firefighters battled the edges of the fire. The fire also caused power lines to crackle, flare into a reddish glow and spit smoke.Smoke from the building rose high into the sky blocking out the view of the moon from downtown Vernon. The cause of the fire had yet to be determined.Ward said the warehouse that burned contained some customer freight while the office had computers and important paperwork. He said the damage would likely be at least $500,000. The owner of the building is from Salmon Arm and Ward said he had not yet arrived at the scene.Despite the damage Ward said he was expecting to be back at work as usual.“We’re kind of wondering what we’re going to be doing tomorrow (Tuesday),” he said. “We’ll make sure the freight gets moving.” Roger Teppler Edge Photography