Pilot program to provide burn barrels for homeless encampments
A new pilot program will see fire barrels delivered to homeless encampments in Winnipeg to prevent fire-related injuries or deaths among the city’s most vulnerable population.
The city has purchased 15 200-litre steel drums that will be distributed through various community partners.
“People use fires for warmth this time of year and we are just trying to put measures in place to help with maintaining those fires, isolating them and preventing sparks from spreading to their shelters,” said Scott Wilkinson, assistant chief of fire prevention and public education with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.
The dangers are real. In February of 2021, an explosion and fire at an encampment on Higgins Avenue left one person dead. At the time, the city said it is believed the explosion was caused by aerosols igniting.
Last year Wilkinson said the WFPS responded to 181 fires at encampments, but the majority were small and intentional in nature, and reported by people passing by.
“Only a small number are actually fire spread issues but even that small number can lead to injury,” said Wilkinson.
Despite the fact that fires in the encampments are not permitted under city by-laws, Wilkinson said those have been waived knowing that fires are going to be used anyways during the winter.
Main Street Project will begin barrel distribution next week.
The decision on who get a burn barrel was decided through community agency consultation with residents of the encampments.
The pilot program’s goal is to reduce injuries and prevent death. The program runs until the spring time when the barrels will be collected.
The barrels cost the city just over $1,000 and then there is the labour associated with preparation and distribution.
Wilkinson said data and community feedback will be analyzed to see what the next steps are for the program going forward.
“This is a harm reduction measure for our vulnerable population. It’s a small step, but hopefully it’s a step that will benefit the residents of the encampments,” Wilkinson said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.