Friday, November 3, 2000
Friday, November 3, 2000 |
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Campfires, bonfires must be approved by fire marshal
By JOHN
MUNFORD Anyone seeking to have a bonfire or campfire in Peachtree City must first get permission from the city's fire marshal. That's one of the new restrictions included in changes to the city's outdoor burning ordinance. If outdoor cooking is to take place without using an approved grill, including fires for luaus and other cookouts, they must be authorized by the fire marshal's office, the ordinance states. "The fire chief and the fire marshal shall have reasonable discretion as to when outdoor burning is allowed based on existing or forecasted weather conditions," the ordinance states. The changes to the ordinance also reduce the maximum size of fires in Peachtree City which are used to burn brush, garden trash and other yard debris. The fires must be no larger than 75 cubic feet under the changes to the city's burning ordinance that were adopted by the City Council at its last meeting. Previously, the city allowed such fires to encompass up to 125 cubic feet. "The fire department believes that a fire of 125 cubic feet is no longer appropriate or safe for developed residential areas within Peachtree City unless there are special precautions," Acting Fire Chief Stony Lohr said in a memo to the City Council on the changes. Persons in charge of outdoor fires should take appropriate safeguards to prevent the fire from spreading, and all fires must be extinguished by nightfall, the ordinance states. The ordinance also empowers the Fire Department to monitor authorized burning activities. In some cases, the Fire Department can either require deficiencies to be corrected or that the fire be extinguished. Burning the following items is prohibited by the ordinance: garbage, rubbish, automotive tires and tubes, asphalt shingles, PVC pipe, insulation, treated lumber, adhesives, shale oil, nitrocellulose, combustible liquids and other products manufactured from derivatives of petroleum. The use of hydrocarbons to start or fuel a fire is also prohibited. All outdoor burning for land development purposes must also be permitted through the fire marshal's office. Such permits require inspection of the site, the burn pit, the air curtain and fire prevention procedures.
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