The owner of the Tim Hortons in Williams Lake isn't going to let police and firefighters in his city go without their daily double double.
Even if that means he has to run the restaurant almost single-handedly as wildfires rage nearby.
"These guys are saving our town," Vic Sharman said of his decision to remain open after an evacuation order was issued Saturday night.
"I thought we were responsible to make sure that they got good coffee and some food."
Sharman and his wife have been living out of a camper in his restaurant's parking lot.
His adult son also stayed to help serve coffee and sandwiches to the first responders and industrial employees who remain in Williams Lake, normally home to around 10,500 people.
Every other restaurant employee has left.
"Almost all week I've only been living on about three to four hours of sleep every night," Sharman said. "I have no staff."
But he has gotten some help: despite the lack of sleep and smokey air, Sharman has happily put customers to work as they come into the restaurant.
"There were like four or five police officers [working] this morning," he laughed. "I have one running point of sales... I had to slap his fingers a couple of times, but it's all working out."
"I think he's worked in McDonald's when he was a kid, so it helped."
Sharman said he was able to get two big shipments of food and drink into the city shortly after the evacuation was put into place, and believes officials will allow more in as the need develops.
Fuel and other essentials are being allowed through closed highways in order to keep evacuated communities running.
Sharman says he'll remain as long as the fire remains at bay as a way of supporting the community he's called home for the last 24 years.
"Everybody's so great," he said.
"It's a great place to live."
