City Hall's exterior outlets have been shut off after someone plugged in an air conditioner that blew a circuit.

The exterior outlet shorted after the cooling unit was plugged in Friday night.

Homeless people have been camping in tents on the lawn of City Hall since the Warming Room closed on July 1.

"Tent cities" have also popped up in Victoria Park, Riverside Park and St. John's Anglican Church.

To assist the homeless, people have been donating items, dropping them off at the parks.

Brendan Wedley, manager of communication services for the city, said City Hall's outlets are older and aren't equipped with ground fault circuit interrupters.

The interrupters prevent people from getting electrical shocks if a faulty electrical device is plugged into an outlet.

"Without the ground fault circuit interrupters, there's no protection for anyone who plugs in faulty equipment or overloads the individual circuit," Wedley said.

The incident forced the city to turn off the remaining exterior outlets for safety reasons and to prevent further damage, he added.

The Warming Room was an overflow shelter designed to accommodate people who couldn't get a space at any other shelter.

It was set up in the basement of Murray Street Baptist Church, but plumbing issues needed to be fixed, so the Warming Room need to find a new home.

That didn't happen though, so the overflow shelter is temporarily closed until a new space can be found.

The church will welcome the Warming Room back if a new home hasn't been found by November.

jessica.nyznik

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