Roaring flames ripped through a tent at the Fairview Homeless Encampment in Penticton, B.C., at around 10 a.m. Monday.
It was the second such fire at the site that same morning, where hours earlier, another tent also went up in flames.
“One was an actual fire. It was a fireplace, a chimney coming through it,” said Mike Larsson, Penticton’s fire chief. “The other one was — it seems to be a propane appliance that was being used.”
Larsson said in both cases, the fires were being used to keep warm.
Days later, charred remnants of the tent fires remained on site as a reminder of the close calls.
“We are lucky at this time that in the fires we’ve had over the last year that nobody’s been seriously injured or killed,” Larsson said.
According to the fire chief, crews have responded to fire-related calls at the encampment about 80 times since last March.
But with the weather about to get even colder, the risk is growing along with concern for human life and property.
The city, however, is limited in what it can do as the encampment is on land belonging to the Ministry of Transportation and Transit.
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“Jurisdictionally, we have some challenges there,” said Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield. “That falls under the purview of the provincial government to be responsible for the encampment on their land.”
Larsson says fire officials conduct regular safety walks at the site.
“My prevention team and myself are there on a regular basis,” Larsson said. “And we are seeing more of these propane appliances and more fire pits inside tents.”
Despite the fire hazards, Larsson said their hands are also somewhat tied.
“Our local fire and safety bylaws don’t happen there,” Larsson said. “And so what we’re doing is just an education piece, not an enforcement piece.”
Global News contacted the ministries of transportation and housing on how they plan to address the safety concerns.
The housing ministry responded on behalf of both, with Minister Christine Boyle stating in an email, “It is clear that the current encampment at Fairview Road and Hwy 97 in Penticton is not a safe place for people to shelter, nor safe for the community and travelers in the area.”
Boyle added, “We will continue working with the Ministry of Transportation and Transit to safely close the encampment.”
“We look forward to their progress on that,” Bloomfield said when asked if that’s something he’d like to see.
While space at the city’s two homeless shelters is at capacity, Bloomfield said more spaces will be added when temperatures dip below – 10.
“Nobody wants to see encampments around communities and I think that we’re no different to any other community in that regard,” Bloomfield said.
“It shows that there is a lack of support in the lack of housing for those folks.”
Last February, a fire at the Fairview encampment was responsible for the destruction of two RVs and the damage of one other at the nearby Leisureland RV Centre.
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