Into the Inferno

Junyi Liu was manning the counter at the Esso gas station in the Canadian town of Comox, British Columbia, in May 2023, catching up on busywork during the slow Victoria Day holiday weekend. He’d owned the gas station and convenience store for nearly a decade, but as he glanced out the window, he saw something he’d never seen before: A driver veering into the lot seemed to lose control of their vehicle. And it was heading for the fuel pumps. Please swerve away, Liu prayed.

It didn’t.

Boom! The crash was followed by a deafening explosion as a pump and the vehicle erupted into flames, nourished by fuel pouring onto the car’s hood. Liu was horrified. But he had to snap out of it. If the fire spread to the other pumps, an apartment building and retail centre flanking the gas station could be in danger.

The first thing Liu did—just as he did every night during closing—was shut off the pumps’ breakers. No more fuel would spill out. But in the lot, a car still burned with the driver inside.

Liu grabbed a hand-held fire extinguisher and charged out of the store. He pointed the extinguisher at the flames crawling up the hood and pulled the safety pin. But the pin stuck. He tugged and tugged on it, struggling to remove it. It wasn’t budging and he couldn’t waste more time on it. Besides, the blaze, which was now 3 meters high, was well beyond the means of a simple fire extinguisher. Liu cast it aside and went into rescue mode.

Since the fire was closer to the driver’s side, he entered the car through the passenger-side door. He instantly recognized the kind septuagenarian driver, a regular who stopped in for cigarettes, pet food, lottery scratch cards and a chat. She often came with her small dog, Maggie, whom Liu would take for short walks around the gas station since the woman had trouble getting around.

He grabbed ahold of the frightened woman’s arm and tried pulling her over the car’s centre console. He couldn’t do it. He’d have to get her out through the driver’s side. But those flames. It wasn’t the fire that concerned him so much, says Liu. “I was scared of the explosion that might happen.”

Liu ran around to the other side of the car, ignoring the flames, which now licked the carport ceiling. He grabbed the scalding handle and threw open the driver’s door. He saw past the look of fear in the woman’s eyes and gingerly yet firmly took her arm and helped her out of her seat. She moved slowly, so after a few steps Liu lifted her onto his back.

But as he tried to hustle her off to safety, something tangled around his legs, nearly tripping him up. It was a dog’s leash. Maggie was also in the car. Liu grabbed the leash.

A group of bystanders broke a piece of the fence, allowing access to the sanctuary of the apartment building grounds next door. Liu carried the driver over the hedges and landscaping while holding on to Maggie’s leash.

By the time firefighters arrived, both the gas station store and carport were engulfed. Firefighters from two departments raised ladders from two aerial trucks to hose down the flames from above. Crews would remain on scene for more than 10 hours.

Liu and the driver escaped with a few minor burns, but devastation to the gas station was total. The structures had burned to the ground. Insurance and a GoFundMe campaign set up by neighbors would cover some damage, but not all. In the end, Liu lost everything.

An immigrant from China, Liu initially purchased the gas station with a relative to help secure permanent citizenship in Canada. Without his business, it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to remain in the country once his work permit expires. Still, Liu harbours no anger for the driver.

“I do not want to see that she cries or says sorry to me,” he says. “I know that her vehicle is very important to her because it is a gift from her husband. I wish all the best to her and Maggie.”

Liu’s selflessness and bravery impresses Jim Lariviere, assistant fire chief of Comox Fire Rescue. “People react differently when they’re under stress like that, flight or fight,” he says. “[Liu] decided to fight.”