Once again fire, police and paramedics have converged on the camp for an emergency related to fire. This worries me considerably, since Channel 5 is also reporting, "city officials warn more fires may be coming to Tent City" regardless of the temperatures." This has been one of the most compelling arguments (for some, anyway) for closing the camp arising out of the "codes" discussions we were having w city officials last year. Building codes also kept Charlie Jones from installing his huts, and this was also an argument used to justify dismantling existing structures at the camp as people were moved oh so slowly from them into traditional housing.One thing is very clear: We cannot ask people to get off the street if we don't have a place for them to go. The bottom line here is that there's no place to put many of the folks at the camp because many of them have no income to speak of and no job prospects for earning any income, either. Housing of any sort takes money, kids, and as long as folks are broke under current societal conditions, they're going to be living on the streets. You can't keep moving people from one alley to another without some repercussions and heavy expense; we've all seen this phenomenon for years now. Someone is going to have to step in and break the cycle, one way or another.
We've been talking now for almost two years about getting a new site established. It's time to poop or get off the pot, folks....
Tent Catches Fire In Tent City
Posted: Feb 18, 2010 4:43 AM CST
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Firefighters were called out to tent city Thursday morning after neighbors reported an explosion.
When fire crews arrived on scene just before 2:30 a.m., they found a campfire and a tent fully engulfed. Fortunately, no one was inside the tent and fire crews were able to contain the fire.
Police tell us they the fire was started by a miniature propane tank heater that was too close to the outside of the tent.
In December, a Tent City resident died after rolling into a campfire while trying to stay warm. Police believe he was drunk.
When fire crews arrived on scene just before 2:30 a.m., they found a campfire and a tent fully engulfed. Fortunately, no one was inside the tent and fire crews were able to contain the fire.
Police tell us they the fire was started by a miniature propane tank heater that was too close to the outside of the tent.
In December, a Tent City resident died after rolling into a campfire while trying to stay warm. Police believe he was drunk.
