At 2:15 Belleville Fire and Police responded to a fire near Church Street in a wooded area next to the CP rail tracks after a large plume of black smoke rose from the area.
Initial reports to Belleville Fire indicated it was a grass fire, but it was later determined to be a fire from garbage in an encampment.
Resident Bill Caller, who lives close to the site, described what he heard before the blaze.
“There’s an argument between two of the homeless people I believe, and they’re fighting with each other, then they left and right after that we had a bonfire,” said Caller. “So I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’m not sure if they set it or what happened.”
Caller said this was the second fire in the area in two years.
Fire crews responded quickly and extinguished the fire. No injuries were reported, and fire crews are now identifying hotspots and clearing debris.
Belleville fire crews douse flames from a garbage fire in a local homeless encampment. Burned debris covers the area. Photo by Alan-Michael Steele
