Kingston, Ont. firefighters remove wood cabin from encampment due to alleged fire risk
![Belle Park cabin removal Kingston The City of Kingston says firefighters removed a wooden cabin from a Belle Park encampment. (City of Kingston/handout)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2024/2/28/belle-park-cabin-removal-kingston-1-6788146-1709160293347.png)
The City of Kingston says firefighters removed a wooden cabin from Belle Park because of what it said was an "immediate threat to life."
The city says fire inspectors have taken steps to remove or reduce "immediate threats to life" at the structure on three separate occasions since Feb. 6. Inspectors have also visited the encampment 31 times in that same period.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
On Wednesday, firefighters helped get someone out of a burning tent, Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Donaldson said.
"This took place on the same day Kingston Fire & Rescue removed a structure where multiple heating devices have been seized in recent weeks," he said in a news release.
"We remain very concerned about the devices being used inside flammable tents and more permanent structures including BBQs for open air fires, homemade woodstoves to provide heat, a gasoline generator which was providing power to numerous electrical appliances and a space heater installed on top of clothing."
Encampments have been in Belle Park for several years now. The City of Kingston has tried numerous times to evict people living in tents and other structures in the park. Last November, a person living in the encampment died.
The city claimed in a news release Wednesday that the removal of the wooden cabin was under the authority of section 15 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act and is not related to enforcement of the Parks Bylaw's prohibition on daytime camping.
Section 15 gives the fire marshal or fire chief broad powers to remove people or items from premises where there is "reasonable grounds to believe that a risk of fire poses an immediate threat to life."
The city says social workers were on hand to offer support to anyone affected by the removal of the structures from the park.
Temperatures in Kingston have been unseasonably high the past two days but are set to plunge in the evening. A flash freeze warning is in effect.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6972130.1721585719!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Justin Trudeau reacts to Joe Biden announcing he won't run for re-election
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the news that U.S. President Joe Biden won’t run for re-election Sunday, calling Biden a 'true friend.'
What happens next: Joe Biden wants to pass the baton to Kamala Harris. Here's how that might work
With U.S. President Joe Biden ending his re-election bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats now must navigate a shift that is unprecedented this late in an election year.
BREAKING NEWS Joe Biden drops out of 2024 race, endorses Kamala Harris to be Democratic nominee
U.S. President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, ending his bid for re-election after a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about the incumbent's fitness for office with the election just four months away. It was a late-season campaign thunderstrike unlike any in American history.
Read Biden's full text announcing the end to his re-election campaign
U.S. President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign on Sunday after fellow Democrats lost faith in his mental acuity and ability to beat Donald Trump. He announced his decision in a letter posted on social media. Read the full text.
Harris, endorsed by Biden, could become first woman, second Black person to be U.S. president
Kamala Harris could become the first Black woman to head a major U.S. party presidential ticket after U.S. President Joe Biden abruptly ended his re-election bid and endorsed her.
The pilot who died in crash after releasing skydivers near Niagara Falls has been identified
NEW YORK (AP) — Officials on Sunday released the name of a pilot who died in a skydiving flight after her passengers jumped from the aircraft near the Niagara Falls.
LCBO workers ratify tentative agreement, strike ends Monday
The union representing 10,000 workers at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has ratified a tentative agreement, which will officially end its two-week strike at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
Joy in Newfoundland after 'Lucky 7' fishers survive harrowing days lost at sea
There was a powerful word being repeated in the joyful Newfoundland community of New-Wes-Valley on Sunday: 'Miracle.'
A Florida woman was killed 24 years ago. DNA evidence just helped police make an arrest in the cold case
A Florida woman’s brutal killing nearly 25 years ago may finally be solved after authorities arrested the suspect this week, according to the Sanford Police Department.