David Johnston
Manager of Fire Services
Municipality of Bluewater
Dear Mr. Johnston:
Thank you for your letter of July 20,
2005, requesting our comments and opinions on the question of open
air burning. We appreciate your seeking our opinion, and we agree
with your comment that the extension of the existing by-law beyond
the three villages would undoubtedly draw a reaction from
residents about “the ambiance of cottage and camp-style life”.
We have considered the matter
carefully and consulted with local residents. Our findings are
two-fold. On the one hand, lakeshore residents value the open-air
fires that they have enjoyed for many years. On the other hand,
some residents believe that in some cases their neighbours have
not always given sufficient consideration to courtesy and safety
or even to common sense. We have also considered the question of
whether the Municipality should pass by-laws which it will have
difficulty enforcing.
Therefore we recommend that Council
not extend by-law 75-2001 to the lakeshore area but instead
establish guidelines to limit and control open-air fires in
those parts of Bluewater beyond the three villages. These
guidelines could be posted on the website and used as a reference
for educating the residents about courtesy, safety, and common
sense.
We suggest that these Bluewater
guidelines include the following limits on open-air fires:
-
No open-air fires within 10 meters of
any building, structure, or overhead wires;
-
No fire greater than 1.5 meters in
diameter (unless a permit has been issued);
-
No household garbage, plastics,
rubber, petroleum products, building materials, or other toxic
materials to be burned;
-
No fire if the wind is over 15kph;
-
Fire must be on the owner’s property;
-
Fire must not cause smoke or fire
damage to any property;
-
Fire must be attended at all times
and attendant must have access to sufficient water to extinguish
fire;
-
Fire must be completely extinguished
before vacating the site.
We hope that these comments will be
helpful to you.
Yours sincerely,
John Gillespie, President BSRA
