A tent fire at Kelowna, B.C.’s outdoor sheltering site is again highlighting safety concerns during the coldest weeks of the year.
Fire crews responded to the tent city along the Okanagan Rail Trail on Sunday afternoon to douse a blaze that erupted in or near one of the tents.
While an exact cause isn’t known, the Kelowna Fire Department confirmed fires along that section of rail trail are a regular occurrence as those sheltering outside attempt to stay warm.
“You just kind of make do with with what you have,” said Aaron, who lives at the tent city. “I mean, some people run propane just to keep warm, you know. Some people have to use candles.”
But this year for the first time, among the dozens of tents along the Okanagan Rail Trail, there’s a new tent, a much bigger one that was erected at the beginning of December.
It’s a warming tent to keep people safe during the bitter cold.
But other than being used to serve breakfast and dinner, the tent is closed off.
“It’s definitely not being used as a warming tent,” Aaron told Global News.
That’s because there’s a temperature threshold to activate it and so far this season it hasn’t been cold enough.
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“Not yet,” said Nick Bonnett, bylaw services manager for the City of Kelowna. “Fortunately, the weather has held off and so we have not had to use that as a warming overnight space yet.”
The warming tent can accommodate up to 50 people and is a level two in the city’s cold weather response strategy.
It will be activated when the temperatures hit minus 10 for a continuous period of time.
“We’re looking for continuous temperatures of minus 10 or colder to achieve any of our extreme weather protocols,” Bonnett said. “And that’s because what we’re doing here is really an emergency intervention and so it’s really only in these extreme cases are we offering something for those that are in need and are vulnerable outside.”
The warming tent is a partnership between BC Housing, the city and the Gospel Mission, which says is an important piece of the extreme weather response.
“I think the warming tent also shows the community down there that there are people that are looking after them during the colder months, ” said Asna Memon, outreach services manager for the Gospel Mission.
“So it’s not only adding a benefit to their physical health, but I think it also speaks volume to the mental health and the isolation.”
While the warming tent is ready to be activated at any moment, those at the tent city feel it shouldn’t be sitting empty while people struggle outside.
“That’s the idea behind it when they put it up, was to be for the people that don’t have any sort of heat sources, you know, people that are in need of being warm,” said Aaron.
The warming tent is a pilot project and will be reviewed at the end of the winter season.
