The deadly fire at Milligan’s Pond in central Barrie on June 4 still has more questions than answers.
There has been no official statement from either city police or the province's Office of the Chief Coroner, but Kayne Mew believes in his heart that it was his dad who perished that morning.
Firefighters were called to the wooded area that day around 10 a.m., near Boys Street, to extinguish the blaze that started near a homeless encampment and ended with the body of an individual being discovered.
Online posts naming the suspected victim indicated there will be a gathering today to honour him at the memorial rock near where he died. BarrieToday has opted not to publish the man's name until there has been positive identification.
Mew, 33, told BarrieToday he hadn’t heard from his dad for a few days and when he read news reports and learned the location the fatal fire, he immediately grew concerned.
“Basically, he was missing for a couple of days and usually we keep in touch every other day or he and my sister would talk,” Mew said in an interview near the site of the fatal fire. “He would hang around the site where the fire was and when I didn’t hear from him, my suspicions rose.”
Mew asked around and heard that his dad was in the area of the fire the day it happened.
“I knew he was a local around the park. He wasn’t homeless, though. He was living in a place, but he knew the people here or from the Sally Ann (Salvation Army), the Busby or the hotel. He did spend a few years on the street when he and my mom split up."
Mew said the official results from the coroner have not come back and while he's hearing “tons of stories” about what may have happened, he says a family member was given confirmation of the death by investigators on Wednesday. The family member declined comment when contacted by BarrieToday.
In the intervening days since the fatal fire occurred, BarrieToday has sent emails to the Office of the Fire Marshal and Barrie police, with both responding the investigation is ongoing and there's no new information that can be released, including the victim's identity.
Mew said he and his dad moved to Barrie about four years ago and, while he has experienced homelessness himself in the past, Mew and his twin children are housed not far from the park.
Talking about his children and thinking about his dad as Father’s Day approached, Mew told BarrieToday how tough it was going to be.
“He was my best friend, so I’m still in shock. Going a week and half without confirmation but knowing it was him through the process of elimination... everyone else was accounted for,” Mew said. “He didn’t just disappear, it wasn’t usual for him.
"Being Father’s Day, it makes it even harder. It's nice that we’re going to have a memorial for him here (today at The Rock), but being a dad myself makes it really hard.”
The Rock and makeshift garden are a gathering place for members of the Milligan's Pond community when someone dies.
“So many have had to gather here — it happens way more than it should,” Mew said. “Sunday we do it for my dad. It’ll be a tough day, but one that is needed.”
Mew said his dad had a place of his own, but would still visit Milligan's Pond because that was his community.
“These are our people, it's who we are, maybe who we were. We’re all outcasts at some point. But honestly, without coming back down here we can’t support each other and we have to support each other,” Mew told a reporter. “Also, it's beautiful here. People like to give it a bad name, but look around.
"You and I have walked a bit here and not seen one needle, not one beer can. I’m not saying (those things) don’t happen here, I’m just saying the ones we’ve been chatting with today all take care of each other and the area.”
Mew says he hopes more can be done to provide people with adequate housing in Barrie.
“We need housing. It took me nine months to get housing, so even with assistance and a bunch of programs available, there is still a huge waiting list. The truth is, you could live in a home but with all the assistance and such, you’re on the brink of homelessness again when funding goes wrong,” he said. “Watching how long it took my dad to even get a room, it's definitely a crisis here and even just nationwide.”
Mew, who said he briefly studied mental health and addiction in school, urged people in power to come down to the areas in the city where homeless people are living and "truly listen" to what's happening and ask about their concerns.
The deadly June 4 fire is the second fatality linked to a fire in a homeless encampment in Barrie this year. On Feb. 8, a man was airlifted to the burn centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto following a fire in a small wooded area near Anne Street. He died several days later. A local resident at the time believed a propane tank used for heat exploded in a tent.
No further details have been released in connection to that fire, either.
