Vallejo Firefighters Deal With Fires At Homeless Encampments
VALLEJO (KCBS) -- Dozens of homeless people who have been setting up encampments near Sonoma Blvd. in Vallejo have accidentally set some fires.
Vallejo firefighters said 40 to 50 homeless people had set up an encampment at the site of a former car dealership on Sonoma Blvd., which burned down last month.
Fire Department spokesman Bill Tweedy believes some of the same homeless people were responsible for a small cooking fire over the weekend near a vacant space on Sonoma Blvd.
KCBS' Dave Padilla Reports:
"The fire station is close to here, but the bad thing is, we have five fire stations throughout the city, and usually at one point during the day, most of them are on call," he said.
At a fenced-off vacant lot in what used to be a K-Mart store, Tweedy said now the homeless are pitching tents and tarps near a marshland.
"I'm sure the bulk of them are still in the area," he said.
Homeless advocates have offered shelter beds for the homeless here, but Tweedy said some homeless people turned down the offer because they didn't want to abide by shelter rules and regulations.
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