Three Vancouver Police officers were shocked to find two women asleep under a burning pile of shopping carts this morning.

Shortly before 7:00 a.m., the officers observed plumes of smoke billowing on Columbia Street near East Hastings. As they rushed to investigate, they heard someone shouting, “Fire!”

Flames were rising from tarped shopping carts full of personal property, which were stacked up against the building. When the officers lifted the tarps, they saw the women sleeping underneath, one of them wrapped in a blanket that was on fire. An officer ripped off the blanket, while his fellow officers started pulling all of the burning tarps and property away.

Once everyone was a safe distance from the fire, members ran back to their car parked nearby and grabbed extinguishers to put out the flames.

The women pulled from the fire were not injured.

Police will be reviewing video from the surrounding area, and are still trying to confirm the fire was accidental and not intentionally set.