Overnight fire at controversial Barrie park

Items burned in a fire at Berczy Park in Barrie, Ont., on Sun., Sept. 8., 2024 (CTV News/Chris Garry)

Fire crews responded to a fire at Berczy Park in Barrie early Sunday morning, where a group of people using the area as a campground received a three-day eviction notice from the City this past week.

The 911 call occurred around 12:35 a.m. on Sunday of a fire 500 feet into the park from the Berczy Street entrance.

"The fire was extinguished in about six minutes after arrival," said Carrie Clark, Barrie's deputy fire chief. "[Initial] reports stated that there was a working fire in the park and that there were tents and clothing on fire."

Clark added that the fire was approximately 30 by 15 feet in size and was not deemed suspicious. The scene was cleared by later Sunday morning.

While no injuries were reported, community members connected with those on the campgrounds told CTV News that one person was directly affected by the fire.

"He lost everything," said Christine Naylor, an outreach volunteer, while on the site. "He doesn't have a sleeping bag and [is left with] only the clothes he has on."

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Unsure of what's to come, roughly two dozen homeless people sit in limbo at the park as the deadline for their impending eviction has passed.

This past Tuesday, bylaw officers handed out eviction notices in an aggressive and controversial step to tackle encampments.

City of Barrie crews arrived at the park this past Friday to clean up some of the garbage, and a Barrie Fire pumper truck arrived, but after encountering some people at the entrance to the park, firefighters left without entering.

The eviction has left many questioning where those on the campgrounds are supposed to go next.

Mayor Alex Nuttall told CTV News in an interview this past Tuesday, "Parks are places where our kids are playing, where our seniors are walking, and families are hanging out, and they are not campgrounds. They need to be clean, free of needles and paraphernalia that pose a risk to young people."

The Busby Centre, in support of the County of Simcoe, plans to add 20 shelter beds to help those displaced, but Jeff Schlemmer, the executive director of the Community Legal Clinic Of York Region, said shelter beds aren't always the answer.

"The issue is, is it accessible to the individual? If the person has a pet, do they allow pets? If they have partners, do they allow partners? Do they have locked lockers? If they have an addiction, can they accommodate that?" he said in an interview with CTV News this past Tuesday.

CTV News reached out to the City of Barrie for clarification about the three-day eviction notice, and received a statement from Dawn McAlpine, the general manager of community and corporate services, noting, "The City continues to work with the County of Simcoe as the lead on housing and homelessness in Barrie. The information that the County provides on the status of the individuals and their housing offers will inform next steps."

Questions about when the evictions would happen and whether additional supports recommended would be in place for the vulnerable went unanswered.

In an email to CTV News, the County stated that it works closely with municipalities and service providers to help those in need. The statement added that the County does not have the authority to dismantle encampments or enforce municipal bylaws.

"Our role is to provide the service providers with funding to work towards ending peoples' experience with homelessness. This approach is similar to the efforts the County has provided to other communities in Simcoe County as they addressed local encampments," stated Mina Fayez-Bahgat, general manager of social and community services for the County of Simcoe. 

With files from CTV's Kim Phillips