Fire chiefs concerned about open-air burning
While some municipalities in Niagara have already issued bans on open-air burning, ones that haven’t are urging residents to exercise proper judgment when enjoying the outdoors over the weekend.
Pelham Fire Department and the town’s bylaw office is officially prohibiting property owners to light a campfire as a result of dry conditions around the community.
Fire Chief Bob Lymburner said erring on the side of caution is the approach his department is taking, considering a few incidents connected to the current heat wave have occurred.
“We’ve had a number of grass fires already, so we thought we’d minimize the activity,” said Lymburner, also pointing out that a ban has been placed on both recreational and agricultural burns normally permitted in the town.
The moratorium on campfires likely won’t be lifted until a significant amount of precipitation falls.
“One rainfall won’t do it,” said Lymburner, explaining that vegetation such as brown and dry grass needs to be brought back to life before residents will legally be able to roast marshmallows and hotdogs in their backyards.
“I’ve put them on before where they’ve lasted from June to almost September,” he said.
“The odd time we get people who aren’t aware of it, but we stop by and tell them to put it out,” said Lymburner, adding bans were put in place the past two summers in Pelham.
He also said a massive grass fire in Niagara-on-the-Lake that burned more than 30 cars parked in a field at the Niagara Lavender Festival on Sunday is fresh on people’s minds.
“It heightens that awareness,” he said.
West Lincoln and Niagara Falls also have bans in place.
Welland fire Chief Brian Kennedy said his team is keeping a close eye on the situation.
“We haven’t had anything crazy happen yet, so we’re monitoring the situation,” Kennedy said on Thursday shortly after Niagara Falls and Pelham made their announcements.
“If it gets to the point that we think that’s the way we have to go, that’s what we’ll do,” said Kennedy, also encouraging residents to use sound judgment over the next few days.
Welland has several rules attached to its open-air burning bylaw, such as fires not being permitted outside the hours of 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and that they not be lit closer than three metres to a property line.
Port Colborne fire Chief Tom Cartwright said he is waiting to see what happens over the weekend before he moves ahead with issuing a ban.
“If we don’t get a significant amount of rain, I’ll be issuing a fire ban the first of the week,” he said, also asking that residents refer to the social media pages of the municipality and fire department for further advice.