Fire Pits

[x635 4,066]

When I lived in Texas, I had a firepit in my backyard. One of those ones you buy at Lowes and keeps it contained with a screen. A nice feature to sit around on a cool evening....essentially a campfire.

 

Now, in NY and maybe I'm just recently noticing it, but there are lots of calls for "open burns" and "unattended burns". I also hear a lot of knocking them down with cans. What does code say on having a backyard firepit, and how does it differ from a grill or a fireplace?

 

I do understand the part where people who don't know what it is and just see flames, or people burning cheap stuff creating a smoke and odor condition.

 

 

[dwcfireman 656]

From what I understand it's based on the municipality and it's "open burn" policies.  Some allow it, some don't.  It depends on what your municipality's definition of an open burn is and whether they allow it.  But, if someone out here knows a little more than I do on this, this is not a bad question to ask.

[SECTMB 612]

Down here in the South, most of my neighbors not only have fire pits, they have burn piles for their yard debris.  After Tropical Storm Hermine, clean up was easy as we just kept feeding his burn pile.

 

Took a little getting used to when you see a column of smoke rising behind the neighbors house.

[dwcfireman 656]

21 hours ago, SECTMB said:

Down here in the South, most of my neighbors not only have fire pits, they have burn piles for their yard debris.

 

It's like this in a lot of upstate NY, too.  I remember when my grandfather had a burn barrel for trash, and an open pit for yard debris.

 

But, to stay on topic...I don't see the harm in fire pits, especially the ones that you can get at Home Depot or WalMart (like chimneas or covered fire pits).  As long as you're being safe with it, I don't see the big idea about it.  Just keep a bucket of water nearby, don't leave it unattended, and enjoy some beverages around the heat in these cool autumn months!

[AFS1970 504]

I know in CT open burning is not allowed except for cooking or in fireplaces. There is a definition of fire place, which the uncovered pit did not meet due to the lack of a chimney.

 

A few years back there was a house in my fire district that the owner had build a really nice uncovered fire pit. It was at least 50 feet (maybe more) from his house or any neighboring structure. On the shore of a lake. The bottom and sides were all Belgian block. The bit was about 3 feet deep. He would often sit outside with family and friends and enjoy the fire. The real problem was he had neighbors and they called us frequently. We would go there and talk to him. I ended up consulting with the fire marshal, looking up the statutes, and finally advising the homeowner on how to avoid our regular visits.

 

The funny thing was the neighbors complained about the smoke, not the fire itself, so had he built a fire place with a chimney, there probably still would have been a smoke issue. The topography of the neighborhood was such that his back  yard was several feet lower than his neighbors, so the smoke rising above the level of his house was often blown towards their house, and they complained about the odor.

 

So my advice to him was to turn it into a cooking fire. Buy a cheep grill top at a yard sale. Throw it over the pit. Keep a hot dog there until it burns so much it needs replacing. Then you have an allowable outdoor cooking fire. I can tell you that on my last couple of visits there, the hot dog looked pretty bad. The neighbors were referred to the health department for air quality testing. I never found out if they went that route or not, but the calls stopped coming in.