Tent encampment fires in Sudbury, Ont. a concern for firefighters

Firefighters in Greater Sudbury, Ont., responded to two fires over the weekend, which happened at small tent encampments in wooded areas.

Jesse Oshell, the city's deputy fire chief, said one person was sent to the hospital with "non life-threatening injuries."

One fire was near Pearl Street in the city's downtown, and the second was in a wooded area near the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury's south end.

In both cases, people started the fires to stay warm, as temperatures started to drop after an unseasonably warm fall.

"We're concerned that these fires that are being set for warmth by individuals who may be potentially residing in these areas could continue and will occur more frequently," Oshell said.

He said the city's fire services have worked closely with community partners to help prevent fires in tent encampments.

"It's a sensitive situation and we all recognize that there's assistance that needs to be provided," Oshell said.

"Sometimes enforcement is not the best measure for education or getting success. And so we're very, very cautious around what can be enforced and what should be enforced."

Evie Ali, the executive director of the Go-Give Project, a non-profit organization that provides harm reduction services in Sudbury, said one person lost all of his belongings from one of the fires over the weekend.

"It has just been an incredibly difficult process for him," Ali said.

"There are supports that will help him kind of gather clothes and things like that, but it doesn't really replace the items of sentimental value and other items he may have lost."

Ali said tent encampments will continue to be a reality until the housing crisis in the province can be addressed.

"We definitely are expecting, again, a consistent number of people to be outside," she said.

Last winter the city of Greater Sudbury operated a warming station 24 hours a day, due to the pandemic.