PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Some local leaders are still coming to terms with an announcement made by Portland City Commissioner of Public Safety Rene Gonzalez on Tuesday that called for an immediate temporary suspension of tent and tarp distribution to Portland’s homeless population.
The decision, announced in a press release, followed a series of tent-related fires in public spaces that Gonzalez called “a dire public safety emergency.”
Gonzalez’s announcement effectively halted tent and tarp distribution within his bureaus, including Portland Street Response, an emergency response team coordinated by Portland Fire & Rescue.
Portland Street Response spokesperson Caryn Brooks said the organization will instead focus on delivering coats and blankets to help combat the cold.
However, some Portland officials have criticized Gonzalez for making the announcement in the midst of a severe cold weather event.
In a statement to KOIN 6 News, Portland Commissioner Carmen Rubio said the decision could have been made at a better time.
“While I recognize the very real safety concerns, I do wish that he had coordinated his timing of this decision with the opening of the city’s proposed temporary alternative shelters so that people would have that choice available to them,” Rubio said.
Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said in a statement that the county’s policy has no plans for change at this time, “especially coming out of our third severe weather activation of the winter season.”
“There are no plans for Multnomah County to change our policy, especially coming out of our third severe weather activation of the winter season. My focus is in getting people out of tents and tarps and into bricks and mortar housing, which is why we are moving forward with Housing Multnomah Now,” Pederson said.
In Gonzalez’s press release statement, he said tent and tarp-related fires put first responders, homeless individuals and neighborhoods at risk.
“I am taking immediate action to save lives and protect Portlanders from life-shattering injuries,” Gonzalez said. “To Portland’s houseless community members: I implore you to seek shelter in public warming shelters during cold weather events.”
Portland Fire Department has been called upon 1,015 times for tent and tarp-related fires within the past two years, according to Fire Marshal Kari Schime’s press release.
“Given the heat sources generating these fires and the flammable nature of the materials in question… there is no such thing as a safe, unsanctioned fire in a tent,” Schimel said.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.