The cost of homeless encampment fires are not just financial
RANCHO CORDOVA -- The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District has dubbed the high number of calls to human-caused fires a crisis.
Firefighters respond to 10-15 human-caused fires linked to homeless encampments daily, according to a spokesperson.
The cost to respond is "substantial" and the number of daily calls for service to human-caused fires, that are in other ways preventable, has been dubbed a "crisis" by the department.
The reason for the uptick in calls: more people experience homelessness in Sacramento County, and conditions are drier and hotter. With more people living among dry fuels and at a high risk of catching fire, the number of fires reported goes up along with it.
Parker Wilbourn, the spokesperson for Sac Metro Fire, said the conditions are prime for fires, especially if individuals use items like propane tanks close to dry fuels. These incidents are not just limited to along The American River.
On Monday, at Zinfandel Drive at Douglas Road in Rancho Cordova, Sac Metro Fire responded to a fire that was found to be human-caused. It spread to .5 acres and burned through the belongings of those who were experiencing homelessness.
By Tuesday, the belongings left behind or burned were left in ash. Wilbourn said homes were not threatened this time, and there were no injuries, but sometimes that is not the case.
Metro Fire crews responded to a homeless encampment fire on Zinfandel Dr @ Douglas Rd. Crews quickly extinguished the .5 acre fire without injuries. The fire was investigated, and found to be human caused. A suspect has been identified, and is currently in custody. pic.twitter.com/6pA8WinfNI
— Metro Fire of Sacramento (@metrofirepio) August 1, 2022
"What good is it to fine someone who has no way to pay? What does that mean to a person experiencing homelessness? Just kind of another oppressive thing, their first forethought is to save their home," said Joseph Smith with Loaves and Fishes.
Joseph Smith of Loaves and Fishes explained that the consequences of the fire, like a fine, are usually the last thing on the mind of someone who is experiencing homelessness. He said, like anyone else, the individuals do not want a fire to burn their belongings. Sometimes, he explained, if a camp is near a road, fires accidentally begin with a cigarette thrown from a window and landing in dry fuel.
The consequences of any fire near or in an encampment, Smith said, are what anyone who lives there wants to avoid.
What is the solution?
"The quickest thing we can do right now is purchase fire extinguishers… just like I have at home in my kitchen," said Smith.
This was done at the start of the pandemic, he said, but the funding and the supply of fire extinguishers ran out. CBS13 dug into the average price for a fire extinguisher, on average, they cost $20-$80 but multiply that by Sacramento County's homeless population and the cost grows to the thousands.
How does it stack up against the cost to put out these fires?
Wilbourn explained Sac Metro's cost for response is "substantial" and the time and resources spent responding to, sometimes, 15 encampment fires daily adds up.
On Monday in Rancho Cordova, Wilbourn said, ten firefighters responded alongside two engines, a grass rig that pumped and rolled into the area, a water tender, and a helicopter.
The weather was favorable Monday, he explained, but if conditions were different, more resources would likely have been needed.