Advocates call for better housing options after 2 encampment fires within a week in Thunder Bay

Fire crews have responded to a second fire in a homeless encampment in Thunder Bay, Ont., within a week, prompting advocates to call for better housing options in the northwestern Ontario city.

Thunder Bay Fire Rescue responded to a tent fire at the Freedom Park encampment by the Thunder Bay Marina around 5 a.m. on Monday, the department said in a news release.

The tent's lone occupant was transported to the hospital to be treated for their injuries.

The fire was quickly extinguished by the first pumper truck at the scene, but the tent was completely destroyed.

"Thunder Bay Fire Rescue would like to remind members of the public that tents are highly flammable, and extreme caution should be used when utilizing any sources of heat in or around them."

The incident comes after another fire at a homeless encampment on the opposite side of town at Kam River Park resulted in one death and two injuries.

Firefighters responded to a tent fire at the encampment at Kam River Park in the city's south core around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, Thunder Bay Fire Rescue said. One person died and two others were injured. Thunder Bay Fire Rescue said the cause of the fire is under investigation. 

Encampment fires are often caused by people trying to heat tents, said Holly Gauvin, the executive director of Elevate NWO. The outreach organization supports people staying in the city's homeless encampments. Elevate staff have seen people try to use things like candles or propane for heat, said Gauvin. 

"When people are desperate, they'll find a way to stay safe and to stay warm. And that's what we're currently up against right now," she said. 

Gauvin said she's aware of ten people who have died in encampments in the city since May 2024. Her team is currently tracking about 31 people who are living in encampments in Thunder Bay. She'd like to eventually get them into more permanent housing, but lack of resources makes it hard find supportive housing.

"We're doing all these patchwork things. For the last five years, my team has been going out and putting a blanket around somebody or a tent around somebody. It would be much more effective to get somebody housed," Gauvin said. 

Gauvin also said she wants to see more economic considerations of how current resources are being allocated. Fully subsiding housing for a person for a full year costs about $16,000, she said. In theory, that may be cheaper per-person than a variety of outreach services that provide short-term support but fall short of being able to get them off the street and into housing, she said. 

Homelessness in Northern Ontario expected to continue to grow 

A report released in January 2025 said homelessness rates in northern Ontario could more than quadruple over the next decade. The report's research also suggests that homelessness in the region has grown four times faster than in non-northern communities in the last eight years. 

Northern Ontario is a particularly challenging place to be unhoused, said Lindsay Martin, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of northwestern Ontario. The region is more isolated, and temperatures can go as low as -30 degrees or colder.

Northern Ontario also gets less funding than other places in the province, said Martin. With shelter capacities stretched to a breaking point, people are turning to living in encampments, even in places like Thunder Bay where surviving outside in the winter is challenging, they said.

"The lack of funding for support and operations and better resources, it goes to show with our encampments growing at the capacity that they do," said Martin.

Martin would like to see increased funding for short-term triage services that can get people out of the cold while they assess what supports are needed to get them into lasting housing. This could include increased shelter spaces, transitional housing, and hotel rooms, said Martin. 

"A death in an encampment is a stark reminder for all of us in our community that we're in a crisis and people are doing anything they can to survive. And I think if some governments are looking at punitive measures to those who are unhoused, I think that's an absolutely wrong direction to take," Martin said.