Regina fire department shuts down city hall homeless encampment

Regina’s Fire Chief Layne Jackson says he has enacted the Fire Safety Act at the city hall tent encampment meaning those living there must vacate the area as soon as possible.

Jackson said following a fire early Thursday morning that resulted in one tent being destroyed and two intentional fires on Wednesday, the camp is being decommissioned immediately due to safety concerns for residents.

“This action is absolutely required as the appropriate response to an imminent risk to the safety of those in the encampment,” Jackson said.

According to Jackson, no one was injured in the fire Thursday morning but he said the situation could have been much worse.

“This morning’s fire was significant and of particular concern to me, this was a fully involved fire,” Jackson said.

Jackson said if the fire had occurred in a more densely populated area of the encampment, it’s his belief there would have been fatalities.

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Jackson said Regina police will be a partner while the camp is shut down but did not say exactly what would happen if residents did not vacate the premises.

“They need to start collecting their belongings and vacating the property and if they don’t, we have plans to clean up the property,” Jackson said.

Jackson said they have been working with social services and some community-based organizations to have at the site of the encampment to provide alternate opportunities for people who were living at the camp.

A special council meeting that was scheduled to discuss the encampment was cancelled today due to what the city called a “lack of quorum.”

According to Mayor Sandra Masters, six councillors were not going to take part in the meeting and told her the meeting was not necessary.

“Overwhelmingly, we’ve been asked to take this camp down for weeks,” Masters said.

According to a report from the city manager’s office, the City of Regina conducted a pulse survey to see what effects the encampment was having on residents who worked at city hall frequently or full time.

The city says that 399 of a possible 550 employees took part in the survey, with 82 per cent of respondents saying that the encampment has “negatively impacted their wellbeing.”

“This likely reflects concerns with biohazards throughout the front property, firearms and other weapons on site, and the inherent risk of entering and exiting the building to report to work.  For many employees, the encampment presents their first real exposure to people experiencing homelessness, along with the activities and impact of addictions and drug use. While their concerns may be disproportionate to the actual risks, the impact on their well-being is real,” the city said.

The city also added that 72 per cent of respondents to its survey said they did not support the encampment at city hall.

Further to that the city also said it received 64 service requests from residents.

Eleven of those were from businesses or employees that claimed the encampment had negatively affected them, thanks to thefts or vandalism or a general feeling of being unsafe, the city said.

In total 52 of the 64 requests expressed opposition to the encampment, nine offered suggestions or wished to help the camp’s residents and three expressed support for homelessness, but did not support the encampment, according to the city.

"To date, the City has received 15 reports from staff related to the encampment that range from health and safety concerns to reports of violence, drugs and theft," the city said.

A work refusal was also given to the city from park maintenance staff that said employees working in or near the encampment were dealing with “unusually dangerous conditions.”

The decision to shutdown the encampment caught those living there and volunteers by surprise.

“And now this is happening. This is not fair. This is not fair, 42 days for city council and they haven’t talked to us," volunteer Alejandra Cabrera said.

“This is incredibly sneaky you guys. Come on you guys. Are you kidding me right now," Shawn Koch, another volunteer said to a Regina firefighter.

Encampment volunteers have called a news conference scheduled for noon on Friday where they say more clarity on the decision to shut down the camp and why a special city council meeting was promptly scheduled and then cancelled the next day needs to be brought to light.

City hall is expected to remain closed to the public on Thursday and Friday while the camp is decommissioned.

The city said the public would be notified once it has been reopened.

-- With files from Wayne Mantyka.