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UPDATED: Fire call at Maple Ridge homeless camp

Emergency responders rush to Anita Place Tent City

Firefighters and ambulance were called to a fire at Anita Place Tent City in Maple Ridge, Thursday morning.

At approximately 9:15 a.m., the call came in that a fire there was fully involved. It burned one tent and damaged another, said assistant fire chief Mark Smitton.

There was no one in the tent at the time, and the occupant is trying to be located, he added. Another resident of the camp was taken by ambulance to hospital for a precautionary checkup.

Fire Chief Howard Exner said last week that there are serious safety concerns at the camp, including the use of propane tanks inside tents for warmth.

One resident said that people sometimes steal fire extinguishers. However, he added that Maple Ridge Fire Rescue was on scene quickly.

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Firefighters put out fire at Anita Place on Thursday. (Phil Melnychuk/THE NEWS)
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The Maple Ridge fire department tapes off an area around the scene of a tent fire at Anita Place tent city on Thursday. (Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS)
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Firefighters put out fire at Anita Place on Thursday. (Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS)


Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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