North Bay Fire and Emergency Services personnel have seen their responses to outdoor fires escalate every year since 2019 with a considerable jump in 2020 that has continued to tick upward in the years since.
From 2017–19 the average annual total of outdoor fire responses in those three pre-pandemic years was 85.3. From 2020 through 2023, the annual average is 224.5. Annual outdoor fire responses have quintupled from 61 in 2017 to 311 in 2023, stretching department resources thinner with each additional call.
“North Bay Fire has seen a substantial increase since 2020 in the number of responses to reports of outdoor burning that is not compliant with the open-air burning by-law," Deputy Chief Greg Saunders tells BayToday. "Much of this increase can be attributed to the rise in homelessness in our community. Unhoused people are relying on propane and fire for warmth and cooking. Tents and other makeshift shelters catch fire easily, allowing flames to spread quickly through encampments, destroying shelters and belongings and putting people at risk.”
NBFES Outdoor Fire Responses
- 2017 61
- 2018 109
- 2019 86
- 2020 168
- 2021 206
- 2022 213
- 2023 311
- 2024 264 *to date
This table shows the increase in outdoor burning complaints that have resulted in calls to 9-1-1 and required a response from NBFES personnel for fire safety reasons. Although this fire season has been tamer, the memory of the destruction caused by 2023's record-setting wildfire season makes a response to every call paramount.
There are certainly other factors at play but it is telling that as the DNSSAB-led PiT (Point in Time) Count of individuals in the Nipissing District experiencing homelessness of varying degrees — many living rough — has increased from 182 in 2018 to 293 in 2020 to 300 in 2021, so have the outdoor fire calls.
In 2016, North Bay City Council passed the open-air burning by-law, which allowed homeowners to enjoy recreational fires with the purchase of a burn permit, provided all of the terms and restrictions of the by-law are met.
"Post-Covid we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of responses for these incidents. While some of the responses are regarding concerns about the by-law not being properly followed, the vast majority of these responses have nothing to do with the open-air burning by-law," Saunders explains.
With a few months left in this calendar year, it is possible this year's total number of outdoor fires could end up lower than the 311 logged in 2023 but that will likely depend on how cool the nights get through October, November and December.
