The most prestigious law school admissions discussion board in the world.
|
 |
 
|
Denver allows people experiencing homelessness to keep open fires under certain
| Mainlining the Secret Truth of the Mahchine | 01/17/25 |
Poast new message in this thread
Date: January 17th, 2025 9:08 PM Author: Mainlining the Secret Truth of the Mahchine (Brought to you by My Mahchine™) https://www.newsdeliverdaily.com/share/2010022?args=01YqDtwCU0ZQ%2BDmdSKZsHBUPdmyrs99I4GXBZ8TufpsRNvxs8cHyLwqQ5a35pFk06uk3dDfDiIiFJdM4EUyvGSa0u3EhI2%2FbGbs%2FvQRYvE0wLEbfAe5MqUEOdrXmq7iMtTchCdlN0jvEBR1M9peGqO6QO9x6qt%2BEAZTNfiabf3M%3D
Latest Stories
VERIFY 9NEWS+ Search 9news.com Search 26° Snow Shower Weather Closings
Watch now on 9NEWS+ Next with Kyle Clark
Next up in 5 Good News on the ice rink
Next Question: Will there be precautions in place for Denver's Marade?
Local News
Denver allows people experiencing homelessness to keep open fires under certain conditions When temperatures plummet to dangerous conditions, the Denver Fire Department said it takes a humanitarian approach as it responds to 911 calls about open burning.
Author: Jeremy Jojola Published: 3:07 PM MST January 17, 2025 Updated: 3:07 PM MST January 17, 2025 DENVER — Along the Cherry Creek Trail, a man who was tending a fire agreed to talk to 9NEWS as flames crackled and flickered feet away from a metal park bench.
“To stay warm. It’s snowing outside. There’s limited resources,” the man said of his fire last week when a blanket of snow covered the city.
“There’s limited places where we are allowed to even stand and even sit," he said. "The river has become a convenient spot where we can gather together and be warm and be with each other instead of being by ourselves.”
As the city braces for extremely frigid temperatures over the next several days, the Denver Fire Department shared with 9NEWS why it occasionally allows open burning for warmth.
“We want to minimize injuries, frostbite, sickness and even possibly death,” said Capt. Luis Cedillo of the fire department.
Cedillo told 9NEWS that the city’s fire code allows the department to use discretion when firefighters respond to 911 calls from people concerned about open fires that they see in homeless encampments.
He said the department must balance the safety of the public and keeping someone alive, especially when that person refuses to go to a shelter on a cold night.
“If they say no, then we say, ‘OK, how cold is it, and is there any immediate danger?” Cedillo said.
“Now, if our officers arrive on scene and we see something that just doesn't look right, then we'll quickly make that decision, and we put the fire out,” Cedillo said.
The department couldn’t immediately provide numbers on how often they respond to open-burning calls, but Cedillo said the numbers spike during the cold season, especially amid frigid temperatures.
While open burning is prohibited in all city parks and open spaces, a supervisor for the city’s park rangers told 9NEWS that rangers will use similar discretion in “life-or-death” situations. The supervisor said grills are allowed in such spaces, just as long as they are 12 inches off the ground, if someone is seeking warmth.
Cathy Alderman with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless called the open burning a symptom of Denver’s housing crisis.
She said many people experiencing homelessness won’t go to shelters because they don’t want to be separated from their pets or they might have a mental illness that makes congregate sleeping detrimental.
“I think many of us would see a fire potentially in an encampment and worry that something was wrong, instead of immediately thinking that that might just be a survival technique,” Alderman said.
Given the devastating fires in Los Angeles and the Marshall Fire in Colorado, 9NEWS asked the fire department how it could assure people about the safety of open burning when it is allowed.
“We run on enough of these incidents that we feel comfortable in our ability,” Cedillo said.
If you have any information about this story or would like to send a news tip, you can contact jeremy@9news.com. |