MOUNT VERNON — Ohio’s open burning season began on March 1 and firefighters from the Eastern Knox County Joint Fire District have already extinguished half a dozen open burn fires, according to Fire Prevention Capt. Chris Willis.
“Any time someone complains [about open burning] you have to put the thing out,” said Willis.
The most common open burn offense are violators of the EPA guideline banning open fires within 1,000 feet of a structure. “It’s the first thing people need to understand,” said Willis.
“Our other problem is repeat offenders,” said Willis. He added that in the past, firefighters have been called to respond to open burning complaints at the same residence two or three times in a year. Although the fire department does not issue citations, Willis said that they have called in the EPA to deal with open burn repeat offenders.
“People also need to understand wind conditions,” said Willis. “Make sure it’s not a windy day so there’s no way for hot embers to be picked up and taken down the road.”
According to Ohio law, those outside of the municipal area are permitted to burn agricultural waste such as tree trimmings, stumps, brush, etc., provided the fire is more than 1,000 feet from an inhabited building.
Within the city, residents are permitted fires for cooking provided they are no more than 2 feet high by 3 feet wide.
Open burning is not permitted in Knox County in March, April, May, October and November between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
