Homeless found living with human feces, piles of garbage inside vacant building

Moncton firefightersdiscovered two people living in nearly one metre of garbage and hundreds of needles inside a vacant apartment buildingthis week.

Charles LeBlanc, the division chief for fire prevention and investigation with the Moncton Fire Department, said the two people, a man in his 50s and a woman in her 30s, were living inside the building for most of the winter.

"When we walked in the conditions were gravely deplorable," LeBlanc said on Information Morning Moncton on Friday.

Fire crews and RCMP responded to the High Street property on Wednesday evening, after receiving a call about "suspicious smoke" comingfrom inside the building.

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When firefighters responded to the home, they discovered a person using a small stove and a downspout, to get the smoke out of the building.

LeBlancsaid he believes the man living there had recently washed some of his clothes and was trying to dry them with a fire he made.

When they were there, firefighters also discovered animal and human feces.

The sad part is that is the only place they have to go at this time.- Charles LeBlanc, Moncton Fire Department

Since the building didn't have power, there were also areas inside the home where previous fires had been set so the two people couldstay warm over the winter.

"They're out there trying to survive, that's the bottom line," he said.

LeBlanc said fire crews have been trying to contact the owner of the building, who lives outside of the city.

Not the first call

He said manyof these vacant buildings where people are livingare brought to their attention by public complaints orRCMP officials.

"The sad part is that is the only place they have to go at this time," he said.

But LeBlanc said this is something the fire department sees on a weekly basis.

"Some of our homeless people over the winter months just basically,to try to keep warm, they find ways into these buildings and do whatever they can to try to keep warm," he said.

He said the two peoplewere forced to leave because the home wasn't safe for them to live in.

The fire department is reviewing 27 vacant properties in Moncton. Fire crews are working with property owners to either bring these buildings up to code or tear them down.

In 2013, a 55-year-old homeless man in Moncton died after a fire broke out in the abandoned home he was living in.

No place to go

LeBlanc said he helped the two people pack their belongings, which consisted mostly of clothes, into a hockey bag and a grocery cart.

"We never want to evict anyone," he said.

"Even though these two individuals did not pay rent, for them it's still their home."

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LeBlanc said the man was hesitant to bring his belongings with him because he was worried they would end up getting stolen on the street. So he left them inside the buildingand will retrieve them once he can find a safe place to store them.

"Literally everything theyown ends up on the shopping cart," he said.

Emergency officials try to help the homeless by connecting them with local organizations that try to prevent homelessness.

"They know why we're there, they understand it is not safe," LeBlanc said.

More people living on the streets

Last week, the New Brunswick government announced a new action plan for housing.

The federal-provincial plan will help address homelessness and the shortage of affordable housing across the province.

Meanwhile, the provincial government will spend another $66,500 to help cover some of the operating costs of a new 120-bed homeless shelter in Moncton. That money will also be used for addictions and mental health support services on site, and rent supplements.