iN VIDEO: Flames fully engulf tent in Kelowna homeless camp

Members of the the Kelowna Fire Department and Kelowna RCMP saved the occupant of a tent at a homeless camp that was fully engulfed in flames this morning.

The fire happened this morning, Oct. 13, along the Okanagan Rail Trail near Wendell Place at Crowley Avenue, according to an RCMP press release.

Others were also sleeping when the fire broke out, and the quick response by police and fire crews more than likely prevented a potentially catastrophic situation, RCMP said.

“As the temperatures lower we are seeing more individuals experiencing homelessness using dangerous camp stoves and open flames in an attempt to keep warm,” Kelowna RCMP Sgt. Scott Powrie said in the release.

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“This of course makes us extremely concerned for the well-being of the people in these encampments.”

The City and RCMP will be working with the people who were sleeping there to find safer ways to keep warm.

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