Backyard burning a problem for some
POTTSTOWN >> Two years ago, borough council loosened the regulations regarding open burning, most specifically as it relates to the fire pits many residents were already using in their backyards.
But several residents recently told borough council that some of their neighbors are abusing the privilege and causing problems at adjacent properties.
One Second Street resident said neighbors have a property that is frequently disheveled and that the residents there is now using a fire pit and the smoke gets into her home.
“I have to close my windows,” she said.
Another resident said his neighbors has a fire “day and night to smoke his food,” while another neighbor is burning construction debris in the backyard, “which is illegal.”
A third resident, this one from the North End, said she opposed rescinding the burning ban when council approved it two years ago and her fears have only been confirmed.
Noting that parts of the North End are in a valley or depression, the many fire pits burning there results in the smoke hanging in the stagnant air.
“I can’t enjoy my patio. I either have to close all my windows or even drive away from my own house, and I shouldn’t have to do that with the amount of taxes I pay,” she said.
Council thanked them all for their comments, but took no action.
When council changed the ordinance, it did so at the urging of then-chief Michael Lessar, who has since resigned.
“We’ll get a call that someone is burning in their backyard and the fire department goes out, the homeowner gets upset and then starts telling us about other places where people are doing the same thing,” Lessar told the council in 2017.
But having a fire in these commercial fire pits is covered by the International Fire Code, Lessar said, and so the borough ordinance is not only unnecessary, but vague and confusing.
The rescinding of the old ordinance two years ago does not mean that borough residents can burn trash or leaves in their backyard.
It does mean they can use commercially-sold portable fireplaces so long as they are placed 15 feet from any structure and combustible surface.
No permit is required.