ORDINANCE NO. 2.16

AN ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO BURNING COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS

THE CITY OF CRYSTAL FALLS ORDAINS:

Section 1. Except as provided in this section, it shall be unlawful for any person to burn or incinerate any material, garbage, litter, waste, or other substances upon any premises located within the City of Crystal Falls unless such burning shall take place in a fireplace, furnace, incinerator or other receptacle constructed for that purpose according to the following standards:

    1.    Combustion chamber of any such fireplace, furnace, incinerator or receptacle shall be totally enclosed within a building or structure.

    2.    The combustion chamber shall be vented through the chimney stack constructed and maintained in compliance with the building code and fire code in effect in the City of Crystal Falls.

Section 2. Prohibitions provided in Section 1 shall not be construed to prohibit burning under the following conditions:

    1.    Occasional wood, charcoal, non-ash producing fuel fires in fireplaces, stoves or grills within the city parks or on private property when used exclusively for the preparation of food for human consumption.

    2.    Non-ash burning fuels used not less than twenty feet from combustible material when used in adequate fire-resistant containers for the heating of building materials or for the warmth of workers on a construction project.

    3.    Burning of dead leaves, dead brush, dead branches and yard trimmings originating and produced upon the premises or accumulated on the premises or by the City of Crystal Falls when a permit has been obtained from the fire department. The fire department, when acting upon an application for a permit to burn leaves, shall grant the permit only if safety of the public is considered and will not be threatened by the granting of a permit. A permit, if issued, shall set forth the time, place and conditions when and in the manner in which the applicant may burn such items.

    4.    Recreational fires where the location, duration, fuel, and safety precautions have received the written approval of the fire chief in advance.

    5.    Open burning that is specifically permitted in writing, by the Fire Chief for Fire Department and Civil defense purposes, after a determination by the Fire Chief that such open burning will occur under the following circumstances:

        i.    The area is adequately protected by fire fighters or Fire Department trainees.

        ii.    The fire will be of short duration.

    iii.    The atmosphere is relatively free of pollutants.

That any person who violates the provisions of this ordinance shall be guilty of a civil infraction, the penalty for which shall be a fine of not less than $25.00 nor more than $500.00 plus the cost of prosecution.

This ordinance shall become effective the 10^th day of October, 1995.

This ordinance replaces Section 1 of Ordinance No. 2, an ordinance designating certain actions to be public nuisances.