After a major fire broke out on Spadina Avenue at 3:45 a.m. on Wednesday, it may have been a surprise to see an OC Transpo bus in the midst of all the emergency services on scene.



The morning of the fire, André Bastien was there to temporarily shelter the 19 residents, as well as their pets.



Bastien has been with OC Transpo for 45 years. As an ‘extra’ driver, he’s usually the first one on call at 3:30 a.m. in case a bus breaks down or is running late.



Since a lot of fires break out early in the morning, he often gets called to the scene to provide shelter for both firefighters and people displaced by a fire.



“You gotta recognize (in) the middle of winter at -20, if it’s people or firefighters, they need a warm shelter,” Bastien said.



Ottawa Fire Services frequently co-ordinates with OC Transpo to shelter those affected by a fire, said Danielle Cardinal, the public information officer for OFS.



“People escaping fires often just have the bare necessities and limited clothing, and sometimes they’re in bare feet,” said Cardinal. “It gets people out of the elements and keeps them warm.”



Additionally, OFS works together with the local Red Cross and Salvation Army to help those who have often lost nearly everything.



The mood on the bus is usually quiet, Bastien said, as people try to deal with what has just happened.



“They will chat but you gotta recognize that when you’re out of the house, at the last second, all you have on you is your PJs or a blanket and your slippers and your pets and you’re really emotionally involved into realizing that you’re losing everything,” he said. “So they do chat and they talk and they’ll thank you for being there, but their thoughts are on what they’re losing and it is very serious for them, they are inside themselves and don’t talk too much.”



According to Bastien, people are always appreciative to be given a temporary shelter, “because they don’t expect it.”



Cardinal said she thanked Bastien for being there the morning of the fire, and for providing not only shelter but compassion to those affected by the fire.



“He was really great and humble and said ‘I’m just doing my job,’ ” she said.



As for Bastien, he said people often thank him and OC Transpo for giving them shelter.



“And as a person, as a human being, I do appreciate it very much because I see their pain and I see that they had a shelter and that’s the main thing,” he said. “They were not thrown on the street because that’s what it is — you’re in a fire, you’re out on the street. So if you have a shelter, at least there’s a time between when you leave that fire and you’re provided another shelter you have something in between which is very important.”