Fires at homeless encampments in Ottawa doubled in 2023

An increase in fires at homeless encampments in the city is highlighting calls to increase safety and support for unhoused individuals as temperatures begin to drop.

Ottawa Fire Services (OFS) told CTV News there were eight fires at homeless encampments in the city in 2022 and 19 in 2023.

Ottawa councillor Marty Carr is part of the city's newly formed task force to address emergency shelter usage in the capital, as officials warn the shelter system will be "overwhelmed" this winter.

Carr told 580 CFRA on Thursday that the city needs to do more to make homeless encampments safer and called the potential for fire hazards from camps 'significant.'

"Normally we wouldn't see encampments outside of the core, but increasingly we're seeing them across the city," she said. "This is an escalating concern and one we should all be worried about."

OFS spokesperson Nick Defazio said firefighters put out two tents that were on fire in a grassy area on Terminal Avenue in the city's east-end near the Via Rail tracks at around 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. There were about five tents in the area.

The fire was put out quickly and no injuries were reported.

No details were given on what caused the fire, but an uptick in tent fires from makeshift heating has been a cause for concern during the winter months after three homeless people were found dead in a shed fire in Calgary last month and two people died in tents in Edmonton.

So far this winter, two people were found dead in tents in a homeless encampment in Gatineau, one in Kingston and one in Cornwall.

Ottawa is initiating some short term solutions heading into the colder months that includes using bunk beds at community centre shelters and looking into the possibility of acquiring a military-like tent to boost capacity to make sure people have a place to go.

Bunk beds will be used at a new makeshift shelter at the Heron Road Community Centre, which opened last month and has the capacity for about 200 people.

"During extreme cold weather events, outreach services operate on a 24-hour basis to connect with unsheltered individuals and bring them to safe shelter. Outreach services and other partners stock extra supplies during winter to ensure residents who choose to remain outside during an extreme cold weather event can stay warm," said Kate Brown, the City of Ottawa's manager for Homelessness Programs and Shelters.

"The City does not sanction encampment sites and focuses on working with outreach services providers to transport individuals to more appropriate shelter options. The City continues to maintain adequate capacity in shelters which provide a warm space with access to washrooms and sanitary facilities. The Community and Social Services Department has also expanded hours for day programs and provided funding for 24-hour respite services. This service enhancement provides an additional option for people to get warm if they choose not to access shelters."

Gatineau has also approved a plan to install heated tents in the parking lot of the Robert-Guertin arena in Hull for people experiencing homelessness during the winter months.

Some advocates have pointed to a plan put in place in London, Ont., which has installed temporary "service depots" which would provide people living in encampments along the Thames River with water, food, basic hygiene, harm reduction and other supports.

Carr she would rather see a semi-permanent solution such as small cabins with heat inside.

"We need to be providing proper sanitation for the people in the encampments and we also want to make sure that they're safe," she said. "The people in the encampments are so vulnerable and the least the city can do is work toward making it safer for people who have to live that way."

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe told reporters said last month that migration is contributing to the pressure on the shelter system and long-term solutions require federal government funding.