Encampment residents search for permanent homes following devastating fire

John Homer and his housing worker returned to JC Beemer park Thursday morning to collect the rest of their possessions.

Homer had been living there for just over two months before a devastating fire ripped through the encampment on Wednesday.

Flames engulfed several tents but thankfully, as a result of the actions of other residents and emergency crews, no one was hurt.

Homer says he was inside his tent when the blaze started and ran towards the nearby burning tents to make sure everyone was safe.

“I walked down there and started yelling the person’s name and there was nobody in there. In the tent next to them, I start yelling their names and a couple came out of there,” said Homer.

Hamilton police say officers and firefighters also helped rescue several residents from their tents before the fire spread.

An encampment support network says those living in the park were quickly given eviction notices following the fire, citing safety reasons.

Homer says he wasn’t surprised by the notices because Hamilton’s bylaw officers had been by the week before to warn everyone they would soon be evicted.

The evictions spawned a demonstration by the Hamilton Encampment Support Network that quickly escalated after protesters crossed a police line which lead to a physical confrontation and two arrests.

Both people were released Wednesday night.

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Hamilton police say members of the police service’s social navigator program – which addresses health and social issues for vulnerable people – responded after the fire. They say all ten people living in the encampment left willingly.

The city of Hamilton says six people accepted housing offers in shelters and motels, and three had alternative arrangements.

Homer will be spending the next few days in a motel room provided by the Aboriginal Health Centre.

He’s hopeful the centre will be able to help him find a permanent home.