SaskatchewanThe Regina Police Service arson co-ordinator and firefighters say a large chunk of the city’s arsons since 2024 have been bin and garbage fires. The police and advocates attribute some of these fires to the homeless population as they try to stay warm during Regina’s long and freezing winters.Arsons increased to 547 in 2024 from 63 in 2014Listen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesHomeless populations often try to get warm by starting bin fires in the cold months. These fires are classified as arson in Regina, but the police service says that could change. (Elias Abboud/CBC)The Regina Police Service arson co-ordinator and firefighters say a large chunk of the city’s arsons since 2024 have been bin and garbage fires.Police and advocates attribute some of these fires to the homeless population as they try to stay warm during Regina’s long and freezing winters.According to data logged by police, the number of arson incidents increased by 5.7 per cent between 2024 and 2025. During the past decade, arsons have increased to 547 in 2024 from 63 in 2014.Those numbers, however, are largely due to the fact that bin and garbage fires are classified as arson, unlike in Saskatoon and other Saskatchewan municipalities. Sgt. Bart Lutz, arson co-ordinator for Regina police, said the service is looking into reclassifying what constitutes as arson in the Queen City.“It could be something like somebody lighting garbage on fire in an empty lot. And we classify that as arson right now. So we’re looking into possibly changing that to fall more in line with other police agencies,” said Lutz.A homeless encampment near Carmichael Outreach in Regina’s Heritage community is pictured on Thursday. (CBC News)Lutz said 50 per cent of arson incidents since 2024 were bin and garbage, or rubble, fires. Garbage fires make up 30 per cent of that statistic. “Addictions has a lot to do with it … mental health,” Lutz said. “Right now in Regina, there’s a lot of people who use fire as a source of heat to stay warm.”Lutz said hot spots are usually found in north central and east central areas of the city. He stipulated, however, that these fires are being started by many people, not just homeless individuals. Regina Police Service offences data as of September 2025. (Regina Police Service)Finding heat during a prairie winterTiro Mthembu, an organizer for the Heritage community and an advocate for homeless people, said that over the last 10 years he’s seen homelessness increase due to a lack of low-income housing and shelters. He said he is not surprised by the number of arsons in the city. “Winter’s looming and what we’re seeing on the streets is a lot of people in chaos, in emergency and urgent care.… There’s a lot of stress and anxiety that you can feel on the streets,” said Mthembu.“For years and years, with no funding to affordable housing, maintaining affordable housing and inadequate warming spaces being provided, we see a larger, larger amount of our community members in encampments living rough.”Tiro Mthembu is a community organizer in the Heritage community, near downtown Regina, who regularly advocates for homeless people. (Laura Sciarpelletti/CBC)Mthembu said that for the Regina homeless population, surviving a prairie winter means living day-to-day by any means necessary. That, he said, often means keeping warm by the side of a lit bin and having fires near makeshift tent encampments. Mthembu said there could be less of this if the city would better prepare ahead of the cold season to provide enough funding for more warming centres and programs to keep homeless people engaged and safe. But if more isn’t done, he said, the city can expect to see the number of bin fires increase. “We find ourselves in this continuous predicament of begging the political will to change, to deal with this. It’s beyond frustrating to be here year after year, begging for our community members to be treated with dignity and respect.”Meanwhile, Mthembu said he is happy to hear the police are looking at the “significant need” to reclassify these bin fires.“[Homeless people] are pleading for help. We’re not meeting their needs. So we need to adjust what we think of as criminal behaviour.”Drain on fire service resourcesArson in the city is under a microscope this month, after a fire destroyed an apartment building that was under construction on Victoria Avenue, just east of downtown Regina, on Oct. 13. Sgt. Bart Lutz, arson co-ordinator for the Regina Police Service, says the service is looking into reclassifying what constitutes as arson in the Queen City. (Radio-Canada)Lutz said the large number of fires Regina Fire and Protective Services is called to puts a drain on its resources.“Some arsons are very complex and take a lot of resources and time. [They] take time away from other crimes [police] could be investigating,” said Lutz.He also said there are only two full-time arson investigators on the force, and the police service can expect an arson incident to occur on any day. As of January, Regina police now attend all fire scenes to try and obtain video surveillance and possibly identify the culprit or culprits of the crime. Meanwhile, Regina Mayor Chad Bachinski told CBC the city will support the police service so they have the resources they need.“[We’ll] keep an open dialogue to make sure we understand what the impacts are to their day-to-day work,” Bachinski said.ABOUT THE AUTHORLaura is a journalist, radio host and newsreader at CBC Saskatchewan. She previously worked at CBC Vancouver, CBC Toronto and The Globe and Mail. She has also guest reported on the BBC World Service. Laura specializes in human interest, arts and health care coverage. She holds a Master of Journalism degree from the University of British Columbia. Send Laura news tips at laura.sciarpelletti@cbc.caWith files from Julien Lecacheur
Half of arson incidents in Regina are bin or garbage fires. What needs to change?
