It’s not everyday you wake up to the sight of flames and billowing black smoke from a burning building – but this was the reality residents on the south side of West Fourth Avenue faced this morning when they looked out their windows.
Kitsilano residents were woken by alarms that sounded about 5am after a fire broke out at popular Mexican restaurant Topanga Café between Macdonald and Bayswater streets. Dramatic moments from the blaze were caught on camera by residents, showing just how fierce the fire was.
The fire quickly spread causing extensive damage to surrounding businesses, including a foot reflexology centre and an appliance store.
Residents Nikita Edgar and Chris Comeau said they knew they had to grab their dog Bowser and evacuate once they saw the billowing black smoke and flames.
“At first we thought ‘is this real’ and we went to check it out,” Edgar said.
The couple, who live in the apartment complex next door to the appliance store, went out onto their balcony and quickly realized, it was not a fire drill.
“There was smoke coming out of the building and within minutes there were flames,” Edgar said.
“When we saw the black smoke coming from the corners all around the building roof with knew it was bad.
“Once we saw it had spread to the appliance store we knew we had to leave.”
Liz Joyce, who lives in an apartment on West Fourth, said she evacuated at 6.35 a.m.
“The blaze went up pretty fast,” she said.
“They shut down the road. It was all pretty scary.”
