It is against public policy to permit uncontrolled and unrestricted
outdoor burning. The purpose of this chapter is to prevent needless
public damage to life and property because of public and private nuisances
caused by outdoor fires deliberately or carelessly set and maintained.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the City of Monessen to
safeguard the residents of the City of Monessen from such air pollution,
damage, and injury.
The following terms, words, and phrases, whenever used in this
chapter, shall be construed and defined as follows:
CONTAINED FIRE
Any fire contained in an incinerator, furnace, fireplace,
or other contained enclosure designed for outdoor cooking, or a noncombustible
container with a flue or wire screen of 1/2 inch or smaller mesh.
FURNACE
Any enclosed device specifically designed for burning any
material for the production of heat.
GARBAGE
All putrescible animal and vegetable matter resulting from
the handling, preparation, cooking, and consumption of food.
OPEN FIRE
Any fire not included in the meaning of "contained fire."
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, association, corporation, company,
department, bureau, agency, or legal entity.
REFUSE
Garbage, rubbish, and trade waste.
RESPONSIBLE ADULT
An individual 18 years or older who is not under the influence
of drugs or alcohol or suffering from any other disability which would
impair his or her ability to properly supervise a fire.
RUBBISH
Household and domestic solids not considered to be highly
flammable or explosive, including, but not limited to, rags, old clothes,
leather, rubber, carpets, excelsior, ashes, furniture, tin cans, glass,
crockery, masonry, plastics, recyclable items, and other similar items.
SALVAGE OPERATIONS
Any business, trade or industry engaged in whole or in part
in salvaging or reclaiming any product or material, including, but
not limited to, metals, chemicals, shipping containers or drums.
TRADE WASTE
All solid or liquid material or rubbish resulting from construction,
building operations, or the prosecution of any business, trade or
industry, including, but not limited to, plastic products, cartons,
paint, grease, oil, and other petroleum products, chemicals, cinders,
and other forms of solid or liquid waste materials; provided that
"trade waste" shall not include any coal refuse associated with mining
or preparation of coal.
The following regulations shall apply to all open fires set,
used, or burning within the City of Monessen:
A. Permitted times. Except as provided in §
167-3B for certain recreational fires, open fires shall be permitted only during the following times:
(1) Monday through Friday: 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
(2) Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
B. Permitted recreational fires exception. Recreational
fires using natural, untreated wood and containing a fuel source of
no more than four cubic feet are permitted at any time so long as
they comply with all other provisions of this chapter and all other
ordinances of the City of Monessen.
C. Permitted open fires. No person may permit open
fires on his, her, or its property with the exception of the following,
and in accordance with all other limitations in this chapter:
(1) Open fires set and used solely for recreational or ceremonial purposes, or set and used only for cooking, subject to the limitations hereinbefore, including, without limitation, Subsection
B herein;
(2) Open fires set and used to prevent or abate a
fire hazard, when approved by Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection and set by or under the supervision of a public officer;
(3) Open fires set and used for the purpose of instructing
personnel in fire fighting;
(4) Open fires set and used for the prevention and
control of disease or pests, when approved by the respective fire
department of the City;
(5) Open fires for the conservation and management
of unique and natural areas and/or for the reduction of fuel loads,
when approved by the respective fire department of the City; or
(6) Open fires used as a management technique for
preventing wildfires, scientific research, or vegetation management,
when approved by the respective fire department of the City.
The following regulations shall apply to all contained fires
and open fires set, used, or burning within the City of Monessen:
A. Public property. No person shall set start, feed,
permit to burn, or maintain any fire upon any of the streets, sidewalks,
alleys, or public grounds in the City of Monessen, except with the
approval of the City Council or the Chief of Police or where a designated
area has been set aside or reserved for this purpose and an appropriate
container has been provided to contain such fire.
B. Safe distances.
(1) It shall be unlawful to allow any fire, including
cooking, within an unsafe distance from any building or property line.
(2) No fire shall be set, started, fed, permitted
to burn, or maintained where such fire may endanger any building,
structure, or property, except where such building, structure, or
property is used by a fire department for training purposes.
(3) Outdoor fires shall be permitted only upon private
property and shall take place at least 20 feet from any building,
structure, property line, or road line.
(4) Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to prohibit
indoor cooking activities providing that reasonable safeguards are
maintained.
(5) Cooking grills may be less than 20 feet from a
building providing that reasonable safeguards are maintained.
C. Control of burning and unattended fires.
(1) No fire shall be permitted to burn in a manner
that causes or enables smoke, smoke odors, ash, sparks, or embers
to cross onto other properties or streets, sidewalks, alleys, or public
grounds either in the immediate vicinity of or within 20 feet of any
building, structure, tree, or vegetation.
(2) No fire shall be permitted to burn unattended
without a responsible adult being present at all times and without
a readily available fire-extinguishing apparatus.
(3) No fire shall be permitted to burn whenever
drought or extreme weather conditions exist or when a ban on burning
has been placed into effect by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or
other competent governmental body. The City Council may prohibit any
and all outdoor fires when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances
make such fires hazardous.
(4) No fire shall be set that results or is likely
to result in uncontrolled burning of vegetation.
(5) Outdoor fires shall be confined in a noncombustible
container, covered with a wire screen of one-half-inch or smaller
mesh, or in other suitable noncombustible container, except for fires
of grass and/or natural, untreated wood which need not be confined
to or covered by a noncombustible container.
(6) Open fires must be extinguished thoroughly with
no smoldering.
D. Unlawful substances.
(1) Burning of construction debris, plastics, aerosol
cans, byproducts of manufacturing and processing operations, and wastes
from commercial operations is strictly prohibited.
(2) Nothing contained herein shall be construed to
permit or encourage the burning of any substance determined by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the United States Environmental Protection
Agency to be a hazardous substance; nor shall any fire be permitted
to burn by any person if such burning is in violation of the Air Pollution
Control Act or other legislation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
or the United States of America or any other competent body.
(3) No refuse, garbage, offal, recyclables, or trade
waste may be burned at any time either indoors or outdoors.
(4) Fires shall be used only to burn readily combustible
materials.
E. Special circumstances. In the event that it is
necessary to have an uncontrolled fire of any size, special permission
must be obtained in advance from any official or person designated
by ordinance or resolution of the City Council.
A violation of this chapter or of any order issued by the City
of Monessen under this chapter shall constitute a public nuisance.
The City of Monessen shall have the authority to order any person
causing a public nuisance to abate the public nuisance. In addition,
when abating a public nuisance, the City of Monessen may recover the
expenses of abatement. Whenever the nuisance is maintained or continued
contrary to this chapter or any order issued pursuant to this chapter,
the nuisance may be abatable in the manner provided by this chapter.
Any person who causes the public nuisance shall be liable for the
cost of abatement.
The City Council and its agents, officials, and representatives,
shall not under any circumstances be liable or responsible for damages
caused to any person or property by reason of the conduct of any burning
activity in compliance or noncompliance with the terms and provisions
hereof. The person or persons responsible for any such fire shall
bear sole liability for any damages caused as a result thereof.
Any ordinance or part of any ordinance that conflicts with the
provisions of this chapter is hereby repealed to the extent of any
such conflict on the effective date of this chapter.
If any provisions, sentence, clause, section, or part of this chapter
or application thereof to any person or circumstance is for any reason
found to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid by a court of competent
jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality, illegality or invalidity shall
not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses,
sections, or parts of this chapter. It is hereby declared as the intent
of the City Council of the City of Monessen that this chapter would
have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid provision,
sentence, clause, section, or part not been included herein.
This chapter shall become effective 10 days after enactment.