A resident of Nanaimo’s tent city was left with second- and third-degree burns after an explosion inside his tent early Friday.
Shae O’Grady was staying with a friend on Crace Street when he heard an “earth-shaking” explosion around 2:40 a.m. and called 911.
O’Grady described a scene of “chaos” with people coming out of tents with flashlights, yelling for water and arguing among themselves. He could hear the injured man crying out in pain.
Police were already on scene treating the injured man when firefighters arrived, said Fire Chief Karen Fry. There was no fire to extinguish.
It appears a lit cigarette caused fireworks to go off inside the tent, Fry said.
“The materials inside fireworks are highly explosive and, if you combine that with an ignition source, it can cause an explosion,” she said.
The man was taken to hospital with burns to his feet and legs.
O’Grady took a video of the scene because he wanted to “bring attention to what was happening there.”
DisconTent City is located on city-owned industrial land on Port Drive. Fire inspectors visit the site twice a week in an effort to get occupants to comply with a provincial fire safety order, issued July 18, that requires that all tents be at least one metre apart, that all propane tanks are stored properly, and that open-flame lighting, heating sources, combustible materials and tarps be removed from tents.
“They are still not in compliance [with the order], and this is an example,” Fry said. There are many empty gas cans and propane tanks at the site, she said, and firefighters believe filled propane tanks are being kept in people’s tents.
“Combustible materials are not always a risk, but you put them with a vulnerable population and the risky behaviour, that creates the risk,” Fry said.
In August, a B.C. Supreme Court judge denied the City of Nanaimo’s bid to enforce a safety order aimed at tent city occupants.
Justice Ronald Skolrood said the city’s application was premature.
The city made the court application in July, asking for legal support to remove objects from the site deemed a fire or safety hazard, such as tent tarps, awnings and other flammable materials.
In June, fire crews put out a small fire inside a tent where the occupant was asleep.
About 100 people live in tents or temporary housing on the site.
Noah Ross, the lawyer representing tent city residents, said during the court hearings that if the court granted the application, it would mean criminal charges could be filed against anyone who violated the fire safety order.
The judge is considering a separate city-launched injunction to shut down the homeless encampment.
The fire comes days after Saanich’s fire chief said that municipality’s tent city is at significant risk of a catastrophic fire that could destroy property and ultimately cost lives.
Saanich and the province are petitioning the court for an injunction to remove 110 people from Regina Park.
