[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Girard 9-17-2012 by Ord. No. 723. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention and fire protection — See Ch. 199.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any duct, pipe, stack, chimney or conduit which conducts
air contaminants into the open air.
Any individual, natural person, syndicate, association, partnership,
firm, corporation, institution, agency, authority, department, bureau
or other instrumentality of federal, state, local or regional government
or other entity recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
The use of a grill, outdoor barbecue, fireplace or similar
device to cook food with charcoal or wood; or any other fire from
which the properties of combustion are emitted directly into the air
without first passing through a structural flue, stack or chimney
(except through a small integral flue, chimney or stack built into
a freestanding grill or residential chiminea-type device using only
such materials as authorized hereunder and otherwise complying with
this chapter) and conducted in such location, conditions, and in a
manner which contribute only a negligible amount of air contaminants.
From and after the effective date of this chapter, no person,
corporation, partnership, association, organization or other group
whatsoever (hereinafter collectively referred to as "property owner"
or "person," as applies) shall burn any materials of any kind in the
Borough, except as authorized by this chapter.
Subject to rules, regulations, and limitations contained in
this chapter, an adult property owner or other adult authorized by
the property owner may conduct or allow a small open fire on his or
her property, solely for the following purposes:
A.
Permitted receptacles/containers.
(1)
Open fires. All other small open fires authorized under this chapter
must be contained within one of the following authorized containments:
in a grill, barbecue, fireplace, chiminea, stone perimeter, noncombustible
fire ring, or in a fire pit.
B.
Permitted locations.
(1)
Portable grills/barbecues, with the exception of propane or natural-gas-burning
grills, designed for and used strictly for cooking only shall, while
in use, be no less than five feet from a house, a structure, combustible
materials, a roadway, a utility, or a property line.
(2)
Permanently constructed (nonportable) outdoor stoves, ovens, grills,
barbecues and fireplaces, with the exception of propane or natural-gas-burning
grills, used for cooking only shall be no less than five feet from
a house, structure, roadway, property line, utility, tree, or other
combustible materials.
(3)
Other small open fires shall be maintained only in an authorized
containment which, unless otherwise approved by the Fire Marshal,
shall be located not less than 10 feet from the nearest house, structure,
roadway, property line, utility, tree, or other combustible materials.
C.
Permitted and prohibited materials.
(1)
Permitted materials. All open fires authorized by this chapter shall
be conducted using only charcoal, natural gas, or other clean burning
fuel, dry, clean logs, twigs, or other untreated wood products. Only
smokeless fuels, or small kindling, if any, may be used to start a
fire.
(2)
Prohibited materials. The use of any material(s) to start or maintain a fire other than those specifically permitted under Subsection C(1) hereof, including but not limited to any of the following materials, is strictly prohibited: no paints; painted or chemically treated woods; railroad ties; telephone poles; plastics; cardboard boxes; paper or paper products; garbage, or any other household or residential wastes; construction waste or demolition/salvage debris; commercial or industrial materials or waste; oil, grease, gasoline, asphalt products, or any other petroleum products; rubber; tires; tar or tar paper; dead animals; animal or human waste; pathogenic waste; insulated wire; toxic or noxious materials, cloth, leaves, green yard waste, or other materials that tend to cause excessive or malodorous emissions or excessive smoke.
D.
Maximum size. In all cases, the fire shall be of such size that the
combustible material and flame are contained completely within the
perimeter of the authorized containment receptacle.
E.
No excessive smoke, odors or malodorous emissions. No persons shall
allow or maintain a fire which creates excessive smoke, excessive
odor, or malodorous emissions. Smoke and odors shall be considered
excessive if they contribute more than a negligible amount of air
contaminants perceptible beyond the property line of the source of
the fire.
F.
Adult supervision, control, and extinguishment. Only an adult property
owner or other adult authorized by the property owner shall authorize
or conduct a small open fire. The adult property owner or other adult
authorized by the property owner to conduct such a fire shall at all
times be present at and shall tend to the fire from the time it is
lit through the time of total extinguishment. Adequate means to control
and extinguish the open fire shall be readily available at all times
during any burning. Suitable covering or means of disposal of ashes
shall be provided to prevent them from becoming airborne. The adult
property owner or other authorized person supervising the fire shall
be responsible to assure that all aspects of the fire comply with
this chapter and shall assure that the fire is completely extinguished
before that person leaves the site. Immediately upon the discovery
of any unauthorized or noncompliant fire or burning, the property
owner or other person responsible for the property on which such burning
occurs shall immediately extinguish, or cause the extinguishment of,
such burning. Proof that the defendant in any enforcement action owns
or controls the property on which open burning occurs shall be prima
facie evidence that such person has conducted, or allowed to be conducted,
such open burning.
A police officer, or other duly authorized law or code enforcement
officer of the Borough of Girard, may, upon investigation, order that
any fire be immediately extinguished, abated, diminished, or corrected
(in his or her sole discretion) if, in the officer's sole judgment,
the fire:
A.
Is emitting excessive smoke, excessive odor, or malodorous emissions;
B.
Contains prohibited materials or is using a prohibited or inadequate
containment devise or mechanism;
C.
Is in a prohibited location or of a prohibited size;
D.
Is emitting sparks or hot ashes that may pose a threat to nearby
structures, trees, other combustible materials, or to the safety of
persons or property;
E.
Where its size, materials, containment, location, emissions, proximity
to structures, trees, other combustible materials, conduct of participants,
weather conditions (including but not limited to wind, drought, dry
or other conditions) or air quality, or other circumstances, are such
that continuation of the fire poses a risk of harm to persons or property;
F.
Where a complaint of noise has been made.
A.
No person, firm or corporation shall permit, authorize, conduct,
or participate in the burning of any open fire except in compliance
with this chapter.
B.
No person, firm or corporation shall refuse to comply immediately
and fully with any order of a Girard Borough police officer, or other
duly authorized law enforcement officer or code official, to contain,
control, correct, or extinguish any fire or burning due to drought
or burning ban during such period.
C.
No person, firm or corporation shall permit, authorize, conduct,
or participate in the burning of any open fire between the hours of
12:00 midnight and 7:00 a.m.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 133-7, Burning of rubbish,
refuse or other waste materials, added 1-21-2013 by Ord. No. 725,
was removed at the request of the Borough.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay
a fine of not more than the greater of $600 or the maximum amount
per offense permitted under law, plus costs, and, in default of payment
of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 30
days. Each violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute
a separate offense. In addition, in any civil enforcement action brought
by the Borough to collect unpaid fines or penalties imposed pursuant
to this chapter, the Borough shall also be entitled to collect all
costs, expenses, and attorneys' fees associated with such action.
(Residents will be given a one-time warning.)
This chapter shall take effect January 1, 2013, as provided
under law.
