A man experiencing homelessness lit a cardboard box on fire near the intersection of 78th Avenue and 23rd Street early Thursday morning, Feb. 18. The man was not staying overnight at the nearby extreme weather shelter at the Old Hardy View Lodge, according to Grand Forks RCMP’s Sgt. Darryl Peppler.
READ MORE: Grand Forks’ shelter operators may ask council to keep Old Hardy View Lodge open longer
Fire Chief George Seigler said a duty officer found the box burning in the middle of 78th Avenue at around midnight. Mounties also attended the scene, Peppler said.
Darren Pratt, executive director at Boundary Family Services, which operates the extreme weather shelter, said the shelter staff shut down the facility every night at 10 o’clock, after which clients are not allowed to leave or come into the shelter. Pratt said the fire did not occur on the property.
BFS staff are on-site 24/7, as per the shelter’s temporary use permit.
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