Barrie fire officials have confirmed there were no injuries sustained following an early morning encampment fire near the city’s downtown.
Crews were called to the encampment — located off of Innisfil Street at Brock Park — around 8:30 a.m.
The fire, said Chief Kevin White, was about 15 feet around in diameters. The fire started in some kind of cart, he noted.
“The crew got there and quickly extinguished a tree and some debris,” he told BarrieToday, adding two trucks responded out of Station 1, which is a normal response from headquarters.
“We want everybody to be safe. Our focus is always public safety so we would like everyone to be as safe as possible whether they are in their residence or in an encampment.”
City crews have been kept busy with homeless encampment fires in recent weeks.
On Sept.22, Barrie Fire received several 911 calls reporting smoke coming from a lakeshore lot, located between Toronto and Bradford streets near downtown Barrie. It was quickly extinguished with 350 gallons of water and firefighters cleared the scene.
On Sept. 18, Barrie fire crews also responded to a blaze at the Audrey Milligan Park and Pond homeless encampment, near Dunlop and Anne streets.
Fire crews were dispatched to a blaze Sept. 8 at the Berczy Park homeless encampment.
