A woman in Canada narrowly avoided flames from an arsonist’s fire while attempting to leave a vape shop earlier in April, surveillance footage shows.
Around 8:30 p.m. April 3, police and fire officials responded to reports of a fire at the Vapester Smoke Shop in Vancouver, CTV News reported. Preliminary investigations, including review of surveillance footage, revealed that the fire had been intentionally set.
Video of the incident shows a woman attempting to leave the vape shop only to have her way blocked by a sudden burst of flame at the door. Employees are shown quickly sprinting into action, utilizing a fire extinguisher to douse the flames.
“By the grace of God … No one got harmed during that,” store employee Mohiuddin Azam told CTV News. “No customers or staff members.”
The woman, though, was reportedly shaken up over the incident. “She was really scared … literally she was crying,” Azam told the outlet, citing reports from his co-worker who was in the store at the time.
In a separate surveillance video taken from outside the shop, a masked suspect can be seen spraying what appears to be gasoline along the outside of the shop before setting it ablaze and running away.
Azam confirmed the fire had caused about $3,000 worth of damage to the shop’s window, door, sensors, and banners.
Azam states since the store opened in 2017 they’ve never had a problem. “I don’t know what’s the intention of the person [who did this]. We don’t have any kind of rivals over here,” he told the outlet. (RELATED: Teen Arsonist Who Burned Down The Wrong House Sentenced For Killing Family Of 5)
The suspected arsonist is still at large, the outlet reported.