Encampment fire near Pearl Street in Sudbury

Fire at an encampment in Sudbury on Friday A tent in a small encampment in a wooded area near Pearl Street in Sudbury was on fire early Friday morning. Lyndsay Aelick reports.

A small encampment located in a wooded area near Pearl Street in Sudbury was on fire early Friday morning.

Greater Sudbury Fire Services said crews responded to a call around 7:30 a.m.

“It ended up being a tent on fire in an encampment,” said deputy fire chief Nathan Melin.

“There was nobody in attendance in the encampment at the time that we arrived at the fire.”

One man who works nearby but didn’t want to give his name said the situation could have been much worse.

“A lot of times there (are) tents that are within close proximity to each other and with a very dry grass and leaves and trees that are out there right now,” Melin said.

“A fire, especially ones that are unattended, if they do catch fire, they tend to spread. We can see, as you've seen on TV recently, how fast the fires can spread and get out of control, and then obviously putting life at risk.”

He also said calls to attend encampments have been increasing due to several reasons.

“Over probably the last month, fire services have responded multiple times -- probably seven or eight times -- to encampments throughout the city,” Melin said.

“(Sometimes for) medical calls (but) predominantly open air burning.”

Report any fires

In winter, calls about fires in encampments are due to people trying to stay warm. In summer, Melin said it’s usually individuals trying to cook food.

The public is being reminded that if people have a cause for concern when it comes to any kind of open-air burning, it’s always best to call just in case.

“The biggest thing is that if you see smoke and you think that there is a fire, make that call to 911,” he said.

“We will respond and we will investigate. We would always rather respond … than not get that call at all just because someone's not sure if there is an actual fire going on.”

In December, a homeless man died from a fire inside his tent at an encampment not far from the downtown core. Since then, officials from fire, bylaw and social services have distributed flyers to try to educate people on how to protect themselves.