Restoration crews have started a major cleanup job at a tattoo shop at the Rutland shopping plaza in Kelowna, B.C.
Flashpoint Tattoo Company sustained significant smoke and water damage from a fire on Tuesday.
“It’s a major disruption to business,” said Mark Beaulieu, the shop’s owner.
The fire started outside of the shop, and was believed to have been caused by people experiencing homelessness.
“From what I hear, it was to warm some spaghetti,” Beaulieu said.
Beaulieu, who has owned and operated the tattoo shop for 10 years, said problems such as fires and crime have become far more common in recent years as the unhoused population grows and so too do the social issues that go along with it.
“We have had multiple fires here, just people keeping warm,” Beaulieu said. “Things have gotten really extreme around here. .As a matter of fact, my door has a lockout on it now…some of my staff, they don’t feel safe.”
The Kelowna Fire Department told Global News it’s aware of reports that a group of people experiencing homelessness may have been cooking food prior to flames erupting.
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However, it added that at this point, the exact cause is undetermined.
With the weather quickly turning, there are fears that fires, for the purpose of keeping warm, will increase.
Beaulieu is pleading for more to be done to help those on the streets and, in turn, the many business that are negatively affected by it.
“I would like to see multiple levels of government, you know, address these issues.” Beaulieu said. “You know, make it a priority. How is this continuing to go on at this level?”
Last week, the city sent off a 14-page letter to both the provincial and federal governments urging for action.
The letter calls on the federal government to reform the bail system and for the province to hire more Crown prosecutors and implement mandatory compassionate care.
“There’s a group of individuals who need more care and it is not compassionate to leave them on our streets,” Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas told Global News on Wednesday.
Beaulieu hopes to see changes implemented soon.
“It’s frustrating that I feel like going to Ottawa myself and saying my piece,” he said. “I just feel like we are not being heard.”
For now, though, Beaulieu said he’s focusing on the insurance and cleanup process to get his business back up and running as soon as possible.
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