[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Borough of Bellevue 6-12-2012 by Ord. No.
12-08. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any duct, pipe, stack, chimney or conduit which conducts
air contaminants into the open air and which permits the performance
of test methods and procedures specified in Chapter VI of Allegheny
County Health Rules and Regulations, Article XX, Air Pollution Control
(County Ordinance No. 16782), which by reference thereto is incorporated
herein as part of this chapter.
Any individual, natural person, syndicate, association, partnership,
firm, corporation, institution, agency, authority, department, bureau
or other instrumentality of federal, state, local or regional government
or other entity recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
The term "small open fire" or "open fire" shall mean the
use of a grill, outdoor barbecue, fireplace or similar device to cook
food with charcoal, natural gas or wood; or any other fire from which
the properties of combustion are emitted directly into the air without
first passing through a structural flue, stack or chimney (except
through a small integral flue, chimney or stack built into a freestanding
grill or residential chiminea-type device of five feet or less in
total height), and being of such maximum size and using only such
materials as authorized hereunder, and otherwise complying with this
chapter, and conducted in such location, conditions and in a manner
which contributes only a negligible amount of air contaminants.
From and after the effective date of this chapter, no person,
corporation, partnership, association, organization or other group
whatsoever (hereinafter collectively referred to as "property owner"
or "person," as applies) shall burn any materials of any kind in the
Borough, except as authorized by this chapter or as authorized pursuant
to a valid permit issued by Allegheny County pursuant to county ordinances
and regulations.
A.
Subject to rules, regulations and limitations contained in this chapter,
an adult property owner or other adult authorized by the property
owner may conduct or allow a small open fire on his or her property
solely for the following purposes:
B.
Permit requirements. Except for portable grills/barbecues (which
require no permit), before a property owner may allow small open fires
to be conducted on its property pursuant to this chapter, the property
owner shall have first obtained from the Borough Fire Marshal, at
no cost, a small open fire permit generally authorizing the use of
the proposed fire pit (or other noncombustible receptacle, containment
or device) at the proposed location on the property. Upon receipt
of an application/request for a small open fire permit, the Bellevue
Fire Marshal shall promptly schedule a site visit with the property
owner to review the proposed location and device. Upon verification
that the proposed device and location are safe and otherwise comply
with this chapter, the Fire Marshal shall approve same and shall issue
to the property owner a small open fire permit for the device/location,
along with a copy of this chapter. The Fire Marshal shall provide
a written explanation of reason(s) for denying a permit application.
The Fire Marshal shall maintain a register/log of all small open fire
permits issued under this chapter, reflecting the property address,
owner, date of issuance, type of device, and the location on the property
for which it was approved.
(It is not the intent of this chapter that a new small open
fire permit be required prior to each occasion, but rather that, once
issued for the particular device/location, such permit shall remain
valid as a general, open-ended, nonexpiring permit allowing the continued
use of the device/location to conduct small open fires pursuant to
this chapter so long as this chapter remains valid and in full force
and effect. A new permit shall be required if the device or location
on the property is changed. All permits are also subject to future
ordinance amendments and/or repeals. No vested or grandfathered rights
shall be conferred in any use/location/device approved or permitted
hereunder, and any permits issued hereunder shall automatically expire
if the permitted location, device or the open burning, becomes noncompliant
or prohibited under any future federal, state, county or local law,
regulation or ordinance, including any duly enacted amendment hereto.)
A.
Permitted receptacles/containers:
(1)
For warmth of outdoor work crews. Small open fires for outdoor work
crews (allowed only at temperatures below 40° F.) may be conducted
in noncombustible containers no larger than a fifty-five-gallon drum,
with all combustible material and the flame itself at all times to
be completely contained within the container and with only one open
fire per work crew.
(2)
Other authorized open fires. All other small open fires authorized
under this chapter must be contained within one of the following authorized
containments: a grill, a barbecue, fireplace, chiminea, stone perimeter,
noncombustible fire ring, drum or other similar noncombustible receptacle,
container or device, or in a fire pit. Fire pits, rings, drums or
other similar devices shall be no larger than three inches wide by
three inches long by two inches high, and a fire pit or other device
shall be no less than two feet deep (as measured from the base to
the top of such pit or receptacle/device or to the top of any surrounding
perimeter stones, ring or other noncombustible containment mechanism).
[Amended 4-28-2015 by Ord. No. 15-02]
B.
Permitted locations.
(1)
Portable grills/barbecues designed for and used strictly for cooking
shall, while in use, be no less than five feet from a house, structure,
combustible materials, roadway, utility or property line. (Note: No
permit is required for portable grills/barbecues!)
(2)
Permanently constructed (nonportable) outdoor stoves, ovens, grills,
barbecues/fireplaces used for cooking only shall be no less than five
feet from a house, structure, roadway, property line, utility, tree,
or other combustible materials, unless otherwise approved by the Fire
Marshal.
(3)
Other small open fires shall be maintained only in an authorized
containment which, unless otherwise approved by the Fire Marshal,
shall be located not less than 15 feet from the nearest house, structure,
roadway, property line, utility, tree, or other combustible materials.
(Nothing herein shall prohibit the Fire Marshal from approving a permit
for the installation or use of a patio chiminea or other manufactured
or constructed patio fire table, or similar containment device intended
for use on a deck or patio, provided that the device is designated
and recommended by the manufacturer for such use and the property
owner has complied with all of the manufacturer's safety recommendations
regarding the location, installation and/or use of such device.)
[Amended 4-28-2015 by Ord. No. 15-02]
C.
Permitted and prohibited materials:
(1)
Permitted materials. No material other than clean wood, propane or
natural gas may be burned except for: commercially available fire
logs, paraffin logs or wood pellets. Paper or commercial smokeless
fire starters may be used in order to start a fire. Charcoal may be
used in an outdoor fireplace or grill only for the purpose of cooking.
[Amended 4-28-2015 by Ord. No. 15-02]
(2)
Prohibited materials. The use of any material(s) to start or maintain a fire other than those specifically permitted under § 92-4C(1) hereof, including but not limited to any of the following materials, is strictly prohibited: paints; painted or chemically treated woods; railroad ties; telephone poles; plastics; cardboard boxes; paper or paper products; garbage or any other household or residential wastes; construction waste or demolition/salvage debris; commercial or industrial materials or waste; oil, grease, gasoline, asphalt products, or any other petroleum products; rubber; tires; tar or tar paper; dead animals; animal or human waste; pathogenic waste; insulated wire; toxic or noxious materials, cloth, leaves, green yard waste, or other materials that tend to cause excessive or malodorous emissions or excessive smoke.
D.
Maximum size. In all cases, the fire shall be of such size that the
combustible material and flame are contained completely within the
perimeter of the authorized containment receptacle, and in no case
may the combustible material and flame be greater than nine square
feet (three feet by three feet) in area or in excess of two feet in
height above the receptacle.
E.
No excessive smoke, odors or malodorous emissions. No persons shall
allow or maintain a fire which creates excessive smoke, excessive
odor, or malodorous emissions. Smoke and odors shall be considered
excessive if they contribute more than a negligible amount of air
contaminants perceptible beyond the property line of the source of
the fire.
F.
Adult supervision, control, extinguishment. Only an adult property
owner or other adult authorized by the property owner shall authorize
or conduct a small open fire. The adult property owner or other adult
authorized by the property owner to conduct such a fire shall at all
times be present at and shall tend to the fire from the time it is
lit through the time of total extinguishment. Adequate means to control
and extinguish the open fire shall be readily available at all times
during any burning. Suitable covering or means of disposal of ashes
shall be provided to prevent them from becoming airborne. The adult
property owner or other authorized person supervising the fire shall
be responsible to assure that all aspects of the fire comply with
this chapter and shall assure that the fire is completely extinguished
before that person leaves the site. Immediately upon the discovery
of any unauthorized or noncompliant fire or burning, the property
owner or other person responsible for the property on which such burning
occurs shall immediately extinguish or cause the extinguishment of
such burning. Proof that the defendant in any enforcement action owns
or controls the property on which open burning occurs shall be prima
facie evidence that such person has conducted, or allowed to be conducted,
such open burning.
A police officer, Fire Marshal, code official, or other duly
authorized law or code enforcement officer of the Borough of Bellevue
may, upon investigation, order that any fire be immediately extinguished,
abated, diminished, or corrected (in his or her sole discretion) if,
in the officer's sole judgment, the fire:
A.
Is emitting excessive smoke, excessive odor, or malodorous emissions;
B.
Contains prohibited materials or is using a prohibited or inadequate
containment device or mechanism;
C.
Is in a prohibited location or of a prohibited size;
D.
Is emitting sparks or hot ashes that may pose a threat to nearby
structures, trees, other combustible materials, or to the safety of
persons or property;
E.
Its size, materials, containment, location, emissions, proximity
to structures, trees, other combustible materials, conduct of participants,
weather conditions (including but not limited to wind, drought, dry
or other conditions) or air quality, or other circumstances, are such
that continuation of the fire poses a risk of harm to persons or property.
A.
No person, firm or corporation shall permit, authorize, conduct or
participate in the burning of any open fire except in compliance with
this chapter.
B.
No person, firm or corporation shall refuse to comply immediately
and fully with any order of a Bellevue Borough police officer, Fire
Marshal, or other duly authorized law enforcement officer or code
official to contain, control, correct or extinguish, any fire or burning.
C.
Open burning activities requiring a permit shall not be conducted
on "air quality action days."
[Added 4-28-2015 by Ord.
No. 15-02]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay
a fine of not more than the greater of $1,000 or the maximum amount
per offense permitted under law plus costs and, in default of payment
of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 30
days. Each violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute
a separate offense. In addition, in any civil enforcement action brought
by the Borough to collect unpaid fines or penalties imposed pursuant
to this chapter, the Borough shall also be entitled to collect all
costs, expenses and attorneys' fees associated with such action.
This chapter is intended to repeal and replace in its entirety
Ordinance No. 89-18 (enacted September 5, 1989). In addition, any
other ordinance or part of any ordinance which conflicts with the
terms and provisions of this chapter is hereby repealed insofar as
the same affects this chapter.
