Explosion rocks tent city neighborhood in British Columbia

February 26, 2019 was a horrible day for the city of Maple Ridge in British Columbia. At the corner of 222nd and Lougheed Highway near the downtown core of Maple Ridge there has grown the Anita Place tent city for the local homeless. One of the neighbors Jerry G. managed to record this footage after hearing a commotion down the street from his home. With the recent cold snap in the Greater Vancouver area it has made it tougher for those living in these shelters. Keeping warm can become a dangerous endeavor when safety is not taken into the highest consideration. The flammable materials the tents are constructed of make it extremely dangerous having propane fired heat sources inside the tents.

In recent days prior to the horrific fire in question, firefighters and city staff went into the camp and removed around 100 propane tanks, gasoline canisters, generators and other potential fire hazards from the site as part of a court-ordered injunction to address safety concerns. This fire broke out and consumed the entire contents and belongings of the tenant. Luckily no one was injured this time, but previously from a fire this past December a woman suffered burns but did recover. Most of the tenants of this tent city do not have many options. One of the neighbors who only identified herself as Beau questioned why more wasn’t being done to assist people in the camp.

“Freeze to death or burn to death, that’s just a horrible option, and these people need to be housed,” she said. Although there is a local Salvation Army office near by, it is unable to house the number of people that require permanent housing that is safer than this tent city. On a nearby city owned property, there is a $15 million project in the works so let’s hope this will help those in need and end these types of tragedies.