Woman dies in tent fire at Sudbury homeless encampment

One person has died in a tent fire at the homeless encampment at Energy Court in Greater Sudbury. Fire officials are investigating the cause.

One person died Monday evening in a tent fire at the homeless encampment at Energy Court in Greater Sudbury, Ont.

In a news release Tuesday morning, police said that residents of the encampment noticed the fire Monday evening and managed to put it out using snow.

“However, upon extinguishing the fire, the individuals realized there was a deceased person inside the tent,” police said.

“The individuals notified security, who contacted emergency services.”

The Greater Sudbury Police Service later identified the victim as a 38-year-old local woman and said her next of kin has been notified.

“Her identity will not be released out of respect for her family’s wishes,” said police in an update Tuesday afternoon.

“Our deepest condolences go out to her loved ones during this difficult time.”

Late last year, city officials said more than 200 people were living outdoors. A 24-hour warming station operates at the Energy Court encampment, which has grown considerably in size in recent months.

The Ontario Fire Marshal and the coroner’s office, in addition to police, are investigating the death.

Arrived just before 10 p.m.

Greater Sudbury Fire Chief said Rob Grimwood firefighters arrived on the scene just before 10 p.m., along with paramedics and police.

“We were provided an update by dispatch that there was a possibility that there was someone in the tent,” Grimwood said.

“Firefighters confirmed that there was a tent that had been involved in fire, and at that point, (it) was only smouldering.”

Officials quickly confirmed there was a fatality and turned the scene over to police, he added.

Grimwood said fire safety at homeless encampments is one of the biggest challenges fire services are dealing with across the province.

“We certainly sympathize with people’s need to stay warm,” he said.

Working closely with residents

“But we’re always trying to make sure that fires are burning safely and legally. … We try and work closely with the occupants to provide public safety messaging.”

One of the main messages he said is not burning anything inside of tents. A coordinated effort is being made to find a balance between safety and preventing fires in tents.

“What happened last night was an awful tragedy,” Grimwood said.

“Our teams are back out this morning with public education messaging to try and prevent something like this from happening again.”

Evie Ali is executive director of the Go-Give Project, which operates a warming centre near the encampment.

“Our sincerest condolences for everybody affected here and the community for family members that may be affected,” Ali said Tuesday.

Ali said they are working with the city and other community partners “to come up with more rapid solutions for the overall general crisis that our community is facing.”

She expressed sympathy for residents at the encampment trying to stay warm inside tents, particularly when the warming station is at capacity.

Not at capacity

“We all know that there are people in encampments that have to turn to sometimes not-so-safe solutions to stay warm,” Ali said, adding they were not at capacity the night of the fatal fire.

Police said the cause of the fire has not been determined.

“A post-mortem will be conducted through the coroner’s office to assist in determining the individual’s identity and the cause of death.”

Detectives from the major crime section of the criminal investigation division are working with the coroner’s office and the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office.

Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to call police at 705-675-9171 or contact Crime Stoppers.

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