N.B. community devastated by the deaths of two unhoused people in tent fire – New Brunswick | 24CA News
Community members in Saint John, N.B., say they’re devastated after two individuals died in a tent hearth at a homeless encampment on Monday — the second and third unhoused individuals to be killed by hearth this 12 months in the identical space.
Johanne McCullough, director of Street Team Saint John, mentioned Tuesday that members of her group and people residing in tents are heartbroken and shaken by the latest deaths of two “lovely” individuals.
“These people had dreams and hopes and aspirations, and they were working on bettering themselves and this cut all that short,” mentioned McCullough, whose group offers meals and different primary requirements to unhoused individuals within the metropolis.
“They had plans, and I mean that literally,” she mentioned. “They were planning on moving out of town tomorrow. I have a pile of supplies at my house for them because they were going to be travelling together to a new city tomorrow.”
McCullough mentioned the 2 individuals killed within the hearth had been well-known in the neighborhood of unhoused individuals and housing advocates, including that their deaths have had a far-reaching impression within the Saint John space and past. They each go away behind dad and mom and members of the family who love them, she added.
Saint John Police Force Staff Sgt. Matthew Weir mentioned in an interview Tuesday the reason for the hearth is beneath investigation and the names of the deceased is not going to be launched till police have notified their households.
The two individuals had been discovered lifeless in a tent on Paradise Row. On Jan. 6 a 44-year-old man died after struggling critical burns in a tent hearth in the identical space by the on-ramp of a freeway.
Some unhoused individuals, McCullough mentioned, depend on candles, propane cylinders and butane stoves to remain heat inside tents on chilly nights.
“There is no safe heat source from a flame in a tent because everything around you is highly flammable,” she mentioned. “But the other option is to be cold and freeze.”
Tent fires have been reported in cities throughout Canada this winter, and have resulted in deaths in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and New Brunswick. Advocates say tent fires will solely improve because the variety of individuals experiencing homelessness rises.
A research of 11 Canadian communities performed by the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness discovered that persistent homelessness had risen 40 per cent between February 2020 and October 2023. The group estimates there are between 260,000 and 300,000 unhoused individuals throughout the nation.
McCullough mentioned the deaths function a reminder that rather more must be executed to assist unhoused individuals get into enough, protected indoor housing choices.
“We can keep getting them blankets, sleeping bags, fire-suppression supplies and CO2 monitors, we can try to keep them safe and dry and warm. But at the end of the day, they need a solid structure above their heads,” she mentioned.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed March 26, 2024.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
