Kitchener Fire reminds residents about fire pit safety and bylaws

Warm summer days often lead to the crackle of a backyard bonfire by sundown. As outdoor fire pits become the centrepiece for summer evening get-togethers with friends and neighbours, Kitchener Fire Department reminds residents to handle fire pits with care and adhere to the outdoor recreational fire bylaws.

Kitchener Fire's Public Education Officer Tom O’Hara outlines the basic restriction. “The best safety tip is to keep it at least five metres away from any kind of combustible and that’s written right into our bylaw.”

Open air fire pits should be no closer than five metres away from anything such as a property line, fence, deck, overhead wire, building or roadway. Fires should be under supervision of adults 18 and older, and the fire shouldn’t take place before 6:00 pm or after 11:00 pm.

Even if you’re well within the parameters, Kitchener’s Director of Bylaw Enforcement Gloria MacNeil said residents with bonfires creating heavy smoke or fire pits burning unapproved combustibles could be subject to a visit from a bylaw officer and they may receive a $300 fine.

“If you’re within five metres and your fire is creating a nuisance and it’s smoking someone out, someone could call in and we would respond to it and we would ask for the fire to be put out,” MacNeil said. “If we were dispatched out to a property, we would definitely try to work with the residents there. If there was a violation, we would ask them to put them out. We would take that as an opportunity to educate them on what the regulations are.”

Outdoor fire tables have become increasingly popular over the years, but since they’re propane or natural gas sourced, these fire tables aren’t subject to Kitchener’s outdoor fire pit bylaws. Much like a propane or natural gas barbecue, these fire tables are exempt from these bylaws. However, O’Hara advises residents to follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

“You should make sure the table is approved by TSSA,” O’Hara said. “That’s very important that it’s above-board and brought into the country properly.” It’s something to keep in mind, especially if purchasing a fire table through an online retailer.

If used with care, an outdoor fire pit has the potential to enhance your summer backyard gathering. Kitchener Fire’s Public Education Officer offers two important tips for residents who plan on having an outdoor recreational fire on their property.

“Number one: do no not leave your fire unattended. And number two: have a water source there to extinguish it so that if anything happens, you can put it out quickly.”