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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 12, 2006 - 5 Town eyes new open-air fire regulations By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Arriving Now... All fires are not equal, at least in the eyes of the Town of Oakville. At the urging of Oakville Fire Chief Richard Boyes, a proposed bylaw would regulate the use of open-air fires including ones in cooking units commonly sold in hardware and department stores. The bylaw would regulate the size of the fire, what can be burned, and when and where open-air fires can be lit, as presented at the Community Services Committee meeting Monday. A final draft of the Open Burning Bylaw will be presented to the committee Sept. 26. Commonly used barbecues won't fall under the proposed bylaw ­ it's the outdoor open-air fires the Oakville Fire Chief called an "ongoing concern," that will be regulated. "As it stands now, the fire code does not permit open burning in the community, it's only what they call a small, confined cooking fire ­ and that's where the debate comes from," Boyes told councillors Monday. "It always stems from a complaint, that's what brings our people to the backyards. Then the debate is, is this a cooking fire?" According to Boyes, who worked with a similar bylaw in another municipality before becoming Oakville's Fire Chief, regulations will give fire crews a "defined checklist" to determine what's a regulated open fire and what's not. "I can't tell you the number of times we've found shingles being burned and somebody standing there with a pack of hotdogs, so what do you do?" he said. "The best way around this problem is to regulate the open burn." Boyes' report proposes a Town bylaw be developed "to regulate open burning with definite regulations as to the size of the cooking appliance, type of material to be burned, placement within the yard, smoke migration and hours of permitted use within certain areas of the Town. A permit process would also be established for special events, such as a Cub or Scout event or other groups or organizations." In a survey of 20 Ontario municipalities, the report states, 65 per cent had a bylaw in place and after the survey, others reviewed their existing bylaw and made changes "because they were experiencing the same sort of problems that we have." The proposed bylaw will also include "a fixed cost for extinguishment and a benchmark number for repeat occurrences." Boyes' recommendations were welcomed by councillors Monday. Both Ward 5 councillors Jeff Knoll and Marc Grant emphasized the importance of educating the public of the new proposed bylaw. "The only time people know they're not allowed these fires is when the fire department shows up and says, `Guess what, this is not legal'" said Grant, who added public awareness is a key issue. Boyes' report says under the new bylaw, fire crews called to homes with illegal open fires will leave an information letter with homeowners that will explain open burning restrictions and requirements, and the penalty for repeat occurrences. The Open Burning Bylaw will be posted on the Town Website for public input and comment. The other options outlined in the report were to completely ban any open burning within the urban areas of Town, or to allow the Ontario Fire Code to regulate open burning. "It's better than status quo and it's certainly better than going to one extreme," said Knoll. The recommendation was expected to go forward for approval from Council last night at a Planning and Development meeting held after press deadlines. 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