Man dead after fire at Saint John encampment

A 44-year-old man found burned in a fire at a Saint John homeless encampment has died, police say. 

Crews responding to the fire Saturday night near the Main Street Viaduct over Route 1 found the man with extensive injuries. He was pronounced dead on Sunday.

On Monday afternoon, Saint John Police identified the man as Peter Evan Ralph McArthur.

Fire platoon chief Ed Moyer said the construction of the encampment presented a challenge for firefighters. Propane cylinders, cooking devices and heating devices, among other items, "made it a difficult and unsafe area."

Police and the Saint John Fire Department will continue to investigate the cause of the fire, a police news release said.

City 'in crisis mode,' mayor says

Following the news that Saturday's fire claimed a man's life, Mayor Donna Reardon told CBC Radio's Shift that the homeless encampment has been there "for a while," and the public nature of the fire has drawn more attention to the issue as the city grapples with the death.

"I always say for Saint John, we're in the trenches. We've been in the trenches for a while with homelessness," said Reardon.

"We've known we've had a chronic group of homeless people that have been around, 70 or some, but we're in a crisis mode now."

Reardon said there were only seven shelter beds available the night of the fire, "and that's not enough."

Reardon said the city has been working to address the lack of affordable housing and shelter space, but has been taking its cue from Fresh Start, an organization the province tapped to work on homelessness.

She said Fresh Start takes a "harm reduction approach," which is why the encampment was not removed prior to the fire. She said some people who are homeless will not go into warming or overnight shelters under any circumstances, and that has to be respected. 

Reardon wants to see the city take over the social development file from the province, and bring resources to address the issue at the municipal level, because that would be more effective.

"Everyone has been working on that issue and figure out what can we do. But you can do as many plans as you want but you need resources to trigger them."

Social Development spokesperson Rebecca Howland sent CBC News an email statement that called the death "a tragedy" and said the province is committed to reducing chronic homelessness by working with partners in all levels of government.

Howland said capacity in Saint John "wasn't an issue this past weekend" because of a recently opened shelter on Somerset Street that is operating until April, when it will become a homeless hub with "wrap-around services."

She said the province has nine permanent emergency shelters with a total of 301 beds, which can be increased by 200 in the winter months. Professional outreach services at the street level have also been expanded, Howland said.

Combined effort needed, says group

Ivan McCullough, one of the co-founders of Street Team Saint John, a group that helps provide food and necessities for homeless Saint Johners, said a volunteer with the organization was in the area on Saturday and saw the flames.

She called 911, who had already been informed, and went to scene where she stayed and tried to help the individuals involved as best as she could.

In the meantime, McCullough rushed to the encampment with emergency kits containing a little bit of food, essentials for starting a new shelter and some warm clothes.

He said the people who weren't injured in the fire were shaken although physically OK, and the organization worked to get those who wanted to go to different shelters. 

There was one individual who didn't want to go to a shelter, but McCullough said he can't fault individuals for not wanting to go, and they all have different reasons.

"The fellow last night, he just didn't want to leave where he was because that's his home. That's where he calls home. That's where he feels safe."

Encampment fires are always a concern, especially when temperatures drop, said McCullough.

"If you're desperate … you're going to do whatever you think you need to do to try to get warm, and the situation is, it's so complex, there's so many things that are involved," he said. 

"As far as getting people into housing, you have to have places to get them to first."

He said solutions cannot fall on just one entity. He said it needs to be a combined effort from the community and the local, provincial and federal governments.

On the community side of things, McCullough said, his organization is just trying to keep people fed and warm, but solving the problem of homelessness would require many more heads.

He said one solution would be a place to set up legal encampments, where there could be better shelter and more protection. He said it's part of the reason some people don't want to leave their tents — they don't want to come back to nothing.

McCullough said a major event like a fire would be heartbreaking for anyone.

"Of course it's going to be devastating," he said. "But most of these folks are far more resilient than maybe you or I would be for the first little while."

Councillor says city needs permanent solutions

Coun. Paula Radwan said community groups are working on temporary solutions and the province put up an out-of-the-cold shelter, but this isn't enough.

"We need permanent solutions," she said. "We are getting the housing accelerator fund, which will be announced very soon how much the city is getting and how that will be allocated, but we need these solutions like months ago."

She said pressure needs to be applied to all levels of government, including the city. 

"I'm very concerned, because it's getting cold and people have great needs and because of inflation, there's a lot of people that are one paycheque away from being in a tent."