Two tent fires in two days near Carmichael Outreach: Regina Fire

The smell of smoke lingered in the air near Carmichael Outreach on Wednesday morning.

Regina Fire confirmed it responded to two similar tent fires, two days in a row on the property beside the non-profit service that provides help to people dealing with homelessness and poverty.

Deputy Chief Glenn Wagner said in both cases only one tent was involved.

He said both fires are under investigation.

The property beside Carmichael Outreach is sometimes home to tent encampments. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

The fire investigation unit said no one was hurt in the Jan. 22 tent fire. The fire was put out around 10 a.m.

It couldn’t provide further comment on any potential causes.

An investigator did say this isn’t the first time crews have responded to this area.

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One property owner in the area has had enough.

“I’m kind of done,” Wendy Crumley said.

“Not in your neighbourhood? Oh, really, shall we move this to somebody else’s neighbourhood? See how they like it. You can’t walk the streets. I don’t fear any of these people. I do believe they have a right to have a home.”

She’s not sure what the solution is but said the garbage and constant worry of fires is frustrating.

“Generally, when this was full of people, there was a fire every day,” she said. “Some of them were controlled. Some of them were out of control.”

She thinks when the permanent emergency shelter at 1600 Halifax Street opens, things will only get worse.

“What does everybody in the city do to accommodate us that are living down here in this mess,” she said.

“This is just getting worse down here. How do you put a control on it? How do you start addressing it? And I don’t have all the solutions.”

One woman in the area said she heard a loud bang before the fire started. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

Another woman witnessed the fire on Jan. 21. She tried to warn them about the fire hazard but was told to “mind her own business.”

“We noticed big smoke coming out of the one (tent),” she said. “It looked more or less that they were trying to build a teepee, but it didn’t work because it was too much plastic and there was a bunch of smoke coming out and there was a big flame.”

She’s worried for the people who frequent this area and said “This is a bad place for addiction.”

“You just never know,” she said. “The smoke could really damage a person and harm them to the point where they’re in a coma and they just didn’t get the message.”

She said she flagged down police for help.

980 CJME have a call out to Carmichael Outreach for comment.

— with files from 980 CJME’s Gillian Massie