Province inspects Victoria homeless camp for fire hazards

People living in a controversial homeless camp in Victoria are waiting to hear if they will beheading back to court after theprovince conducted a fire inspection Wednesday.

The province sought an injunction in April to remove the camp,but was unsuccessful. However, it can go back to courtif it feels safety and security havedeteriorated.

Campers and advocates for the homeless gave an official from the Office of the Fire Commissioner a tour of the tent city.

The campers and advocates have been working todefine pathways and clear out flammable materials, but there are stillmore than 100 structures crowded onto the site.

Advocate Chrissy Brett says it's unrealistic to expect a homeless camp to meet fire safety standards.

"Tents aren't made to live in. They're made to camp in. So there's never going to be a completely safe way to live in a tent," she said.

Concerns over crime

In recent weeksthere has been growing concern from police and neighbours about an increase in crime at the camp.

This week two officers have been patrolling the area around the camp each day following safetycomplaints from neighboursin the area.

Victoria police said one of those officers was injured Tuesdayduring an arrest.They declined to specify the nature of herinjuries, citing privacy concerns.

The province has not yet said when it will make a decision about going back to court.