City of Elmira New York
Fire Department
September 28,2009
Letter received by...Founder, Air is Precious Coalition
It was a pleasure speaking to you. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.
Let me give you the history behind our open burning ordinance. In the 1980's, our county government banned open burning throughout our county. As years passed, their inability to enforce those regulations led them to abolish the law. At that time, our city created a local ordinance to continue the restrictions on open burning.
As with any law that is enacted, loopholes began to crop up. When I became the Fire Marshal in 1994, we rewrote the ordinance to close these loopholes and the ordinance was updated again in 2004 to include chimineas.
With the popularity of chimineas and fire pits, the need for enforcement was increased. The main issue isn't so much that people can't utilize these safely, but the fact that in a neighborhood setting, the emissions from these devices is an intrusion upon the right of others to enjoy their property. If you can't open windows in your home because of smoke entering your home in the heat of summer, then your health and safety is at risk.
As you will notice, part (B) of section 9-1 of our ordinance speaks directly to the pollution issue. We do allow the use of these devices if they are fueled by natural gas, propane or charcoal; fuels that produce no smoke issues for others.
We do not receive a lot of complaints now, but when we do, an engine company will respond. They notify the individual that they need to extinguish their fire and if they do not cooperate, our crew will extinguish it. A Fire Report is generated and if we receive another complaint, a violation notice is generated which caries a penalty of a $250 fine or 15 days in jail or both. I think we both agree that it does not matter where we live, the right to breathe clean air should be a right that is guaranteed to all of us. This tool is an effective way of ensuring this.
I have enclosed a copy of our ordinance and a business card should you need to contact me in the future.
Again, thank you for the kind words which makes it easier to do a difficult job.
Sincerely,
William R. Wheeler
Fire Marshal
WRW:hm
Enclosures
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