Toronto police, fire services investigating encampment fire at Lamport Stadium

Toronto police are investigating a fire that broke out at an encampment outside Lamport Stadium early Sunday morning.

The City said fire crews responded to a report of “screaming, explosions and a fire involving three tents and one wooden structure” at around 5 a.m.

There were no reports of injuries, the City said in a news release Sunday afternoon.

The same encampment had been the subject of City enforcement measures last week.  City crews were brought in on May 19th to clear the area of structures and tents where they say 15 people had been staying illegally.

The City was forced to stop the operation when they were faced with a hostile group of people.

Reporters on scene at the time described violent clashes between police and advocates who tried to stop the dismantling, with several people being thrown to the ground by police.

Three police officers received minor injuries in the scuffles, police said.

Police said one man was arrested and later charged with assaulting a peace officer.

The City says these types of encampments “pose a significant risk of fire and other hazards to those living in them, as well as the neighbouring public,” adding there’s been a 250 per cent increase in fires at these camps since January 2020.

“Tragically, seven people have lost their lives as a result of encampment fires in Toronto since 2010,” the City said.

Encampments have popped up throughout Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic as more shelter users take to the streets. The City had instituted a moratorium on clearing out encampments during the pandemic but began clearing them out a few weeks ago.

The City is also in the midst of a massive program to move as many people as it can out of congregate living situations such as shelters into hotel rooms and apartments.

It has recently bought or leased numerous hotels to give people their own room in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The City also recently signed an agreement with a developer to rent out 125 furnished rooms for those living in encampments and has moved 97 people from tents into the apartment buildings in midtown Toronto.

Advocates have criticized the city’s actions on the homeless front, accusing it of moving too slowly and leaving those inside shelters vulnerable to COVID-19.