Prince George Fire Rescue and a local social agency have teamed up to lessen the chance of a fire breaking out in the city's downtown.
PGFR crews are now conducting twice-daily patrols of downtown alleys while members of the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Team are coming in behind to clean up the messes.
It was among the steps city hall highlighted Wednesday in a statement on what is being done to keep downtown safe and clean during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The firefighters are covering the area from 1st Avenue to 6th Avenue and from Victoria Street to Lower Patricia Boulevard during the mid-morning and the evening.
DART has been contracted to provide daily and on-call cleanup services, city hall said. With the pandemic, PGFR is now being called only to the most serious of medical emergencies, leading to a reduction in its workload outside its core responsibility of preventing and fighting fires.
Also, Prince George Brain Injured Group has received support from Downtown Prince George to increase the hours worked by the Downtown Clean Team.
And, in collaboration with Community Partners Addressing Homelessness, city hall is also administering the federal government's Reaching Home COVID-19 response fund. Six local agencies have received funding in the name of food security, mental health support, neighbourhood cleanup, and drop-in support.
Bylaw services staff are continuing to respond to pandemic-related complaints. Their work includes educating vulnerable members of the community about public health orders and recommendations relating to COVID-19.
And, as of mid-April, the washrooms in Canada Games Plaza across from the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre have been opened daily from 7 a.m. to noon and 7 p.m. to midnight, seven days a week while being monitored by another social agency, the POUNDS Project Society.
Also, the storage, washroom and outreach services remain open at 181 Quebec St., across from the Ketso Yoh men's shelter and at the Association Advocating for Women and Children shelter at 144 George St., which also provides laundry and shower services to both men and women.
