[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Lower Salford 7-7-1993 by Ord. No. 93-7. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire Department — See Ch. 12.
Garbage, rubbish and refuse — See Ch. 95.
A. 
Except as hereinafter provided, no person, firm, corporation, business entity, industry or other association shall cause, allow, permit, conduct or maintain outdoor burning of any kind.
B. 
The burning of any recyclable materials, as defined in Chapter 95 (Garbage, Rubbish and Refuse), § 95-2 (Definitions), and leaf waste, as defined in Act 101, known as “The Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988,”[1] shall be expressly prohibited at all times.
[Added 6-20-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-2]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq.
A. 
Control fire. A control fire is:
(1) 
A fire set to prevent or abate a fire hazard.
(2) 
A fire set for the prevention and/or control of disease or pests/vermin.
B. 
Fire companies. Burning shall be permitted for the purpose of instructing personnel in fire fighting and for exhibitions. Such activity shall meet current National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) standards for this type activity.
C. 
Cooking. Burning of coals or small, contained fires for the purpose of cooking or preparing food for human consumption is permitted when:
(1) 
The cooking unit is located no less than 15 feet from any combustible materials.
(2) 
Cooking units are not located on balconies or porches of apartment units exceeding one story above ground level.
(3) 
Such activity is conducted in a safe manner and is not prohibited by any other regulation or statute.
D. 
Recreational. Subsequent to proper notification, in advance, to the Township Fire Marshal or his designate, burning shall be permitted for recreational and ceremonial purposes (i.e., bonfires and camp fires) if such burning is conducted in a safe manner in a place where open fires are otherwise permitted and such burning is under the direct supervision of an adult until such burning is completely extinguished.
E. 
Farming. Subsequent to proper notification, in advance, to the Township Fire Marshal or his designate, open burning shall be permitted in conjunction with the production of agricultural commodities in their unmanufactured state on the premises of a farm operation.
F. 
(Reserved)[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection F, Yard waste, as amended, was repealed 2-3-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-2.
G. 
Department of Environmental Resources (DER) regulations. All burning permitted by special exception under this section shall comply with all applicable DER regulations.
A. 
Suspensions. Except for cooking, as set forth in § 62-2, no outdoor burning shall be permitted during any period of strong winds, drought or weather inversion (i.e., hazardous air quality conditions) or during/in any other situation deemed hazardous or objectionable by the Fire Marshal, his designate or a law enforcement officer.
[Amended 6-19-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-4; 2-3-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-2]
B. 
Cancellations. If such hazardous or objectionable conditions develop during a day when burning is being conducted, existing permits may be canceled by the Fire Marshal, or his designate, and a law enforcement officer. Upon notification that hazardous conditions have developed and all burning is to be canceled, residents conducting burning shall, as soon as possible following such notification, fully extinguish all active fires, including embers thereof.
A. 
Storage. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or other association to store or deposit ashes, smoldering coals or embers, grease or oil substances, or other matter liable to spontaneous combustion, within 10 feet of any wooden or plastered wall, partition, fence, floor, lumber, hay or straw, shavings, rubbish or other combustible material, except in metallic or other noncombustible receptacles. Such receptacles, unless resting on the ground outside the building, must be placed on a noncombustible surface and in every case must be kept at least two feet from any wall or partition.
B. 
Disposal. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or other association making, using, storing or having charge or control of any trash, garbage, shavings, excelsior, rubbish, sacks, bags, litter, hay, straw or other combustible material to fail, neglect or refuse at the close of each day to cause all such material to be removed from the premises or to be stored in a noncombustible receptacle as described above.
C. 
Exception. This provision shall not apply to the storing of hay, straw, fodder and other materials which are stored pursuant to a farming operation when such materials are stored in structures especially intended for such storage (e.g., barns, etc.).
A. 
Any person, firm or corporation, or the plural thereof, who shall violate any of the terms or provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a summary offense and, upon conviction thereof in District Court, be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $1,000 and the costs of prosecution for each offense. In default of payment of any fine or penalty imposed by a District Justice under the provisions of this chapter, the person or persons may be committed to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility for a period not exceeding 30 days.
B. 
Each day a violation of this chapter is committed shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder.
C. 
This section shall not preclude the Township from any other remedy it may have at law or equity.
Ordinance No. 74-1, and appropriate amendments thereto, including any other ordinance inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed.
The provisions of this chapter are severable, and if any section, sentence, clause, part or provision hereof shall be held illegal, invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision of the court shall not affect or impair the remaining sections, sentences, clauses, parts or provisions of this chapter. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Board that this chapter would have been adopted if the illegal, invalid or unconstitutional section, sentence, clause, part or provision had not been included herein.