Fredericton’s police chief says tents set up by homeless people in the city will be closed in the coming days due to safety issues highlighted by a fire on Tuesday night.
In a statement late Wednesday, Chief Roger Brown said a fire broke out at one of the tent sites, caused by a propane heater in a tent.
He says the wind spread the fire and burned down three tents.
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Brown says no one was injured but at least five people lost all their belongings.
The principal says living in the wet and cold and using unsafe heating sources creates a serious risk to the tent occupants and to public safety.
He says to keep the risks to a minimum, police will close the tent sites and encourage residents to move to available shelter space.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on January 19, 2022.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca