Fire destroys Regina tent community, residents displaced

Residents displaced by tent community fire WATCH: Wayne Mantyka has the details from the scene of a fire at a Regina tent community on Tuesday evening.

A fire on Tuesday evening caused a group of people experiencing homelessness in Regina to flee their tent community.

Close to a dozen people were living under tarps that were destroyed by the blaze. All that was left of the tent community were a few possessions belonging to the people who called it home.

Regina Fire and Protective Services (RFPS) said a fire in the 1800 block of Halifax Street was reported around 5:41 p.m.

Gord Hewitt, the deputy chief of Regina Fire and Protective Services, said crews discovered the tents and a nearby garage on fire, along with debris when they arrived on scene.

The blaze was brought under control in around eight minutes. However, the garage and the tent areas were significantly damaged, according to Hewitt.

RFPS is still investigating the cause, but no injuries were reported following several searches of the scene.

Jeff Kaponyas said he stayed at the tent community occasionally but wasn’t present when the fire broke out.

“We’re like a little family you know. There wasn’t lots of us, like it wasn’t as big as the one in Pepsi Park but you know it was just a little group of us,” Kaponyas said.

All of the residents fled for safety after the blaze destroyed the plastic tarps under which they were living.

“It’s just a survival technique keeping heat and fire and this is the end result. Now we have more residents displaced that we need to locate and make sure that they are accommodated for tonight,” Shylo Stevenson, with Warriors of Hope, said Tuesday.

Nearby, Carmichael Outreach opened its doors to accommodate those displaced but none of the residents could be located.

“The fire department did clear that no one was here. Staff at Carmichael heard a boom or a bang and then when they came out to look they saw that the tents were essentially up in flames,” Aurora Marinari, the development coordinator for Carmichael Outreach, said.

“We have staff out now walking around patrolling the neighbourhood trying to find any of the residents to see if we can get them into Carmichael to warm up.”