Orillia fire crews had to pull a hose 152 metres off the road through the snow and trees to reach a fire at a homeless encampment in the city's east end on Thursday night.
Deputy Fire Chief Chris Ferry told Barrie 360 that once firefighters got to the encampment, it took about 10 minutes to extinguish the flames, which at one point reached the top of the tree line.
Of the two people that live there, Ferry said one person was checked by paramedics, but that individual declined to go to the hospital, and the second person had left just prior to the fire starting.
Ferry advises that people who are living in encampments should keep the heating and cooking appliances outside the tent structure because those structures are very flammable.
Thursday's fire, added Ferry, started in the area of the heating appliance.
Image - At the Scene Photography - Facebook
