Two local homeless people living in a bush area off Atherley Road, across from Millard Street, lost their belongings in a fire Thursday night.
The Orillia Fire Department was called to the encampment Thursday night at around 7:45 p.m.
Orillia Fire Department Deputy Chief Chris Ferry says the 14 firefighters who responded saw flames in the bushes about 500 feet off the road when they arrived on the scene.
The flames grew quickly and spread above the tree line, he said. “It was a fairly large fire.”
It appears the structure — that included skids for walls and tarps for shelter — caught fire from a heating appliance, said Ferry.
“All of their personal possessions were inside the structure,” he said. “Everything was burned in the fire.”
Ferry says a female individual received medical care from paramedics on scene, but declined to go to the hospital as she didn’t suffer any serious injuries.
The male individual who lived in the encampment wasn’t present at the time of the fire but arrived when it was happening. Ferry said he believes the individuals were in their 30s.
The blaze proved to be difficult for fire crews to battle because of its location.
“It took a little bit for our fire crews to get back in there,” he said. “They had to drag a hose line through the snow and through the bushes which took a few minutes.”
Ferry advises people who live in a tent-style structure during the winter months to be cautious with cooking and heating appliances.
“We advise that those appliances are kept outside of the tent area,” he said. “Tents are extremely flammable.”
On cold nights, Ferry encourages those without a home to stay at the Orillia Warming Centre, which was open last night.
“We did send these people to the overnight warming centre to stay there for the night,” he said. “The warming centre is open on nights when it’s minus 15 or colder.”
