Burning Ordinance Under Fire

mayor and council will be reviewing the borough's burning ordinance after a recent string of complaints about residents having non-recreational fires.

“We’ve been working on this for three weeks now. We started to see the complaints pile up," Mayor David H. Rhome said at council's meeting Monday. "We’ve had five official calls through 911 or the police.”

Council members said they had been getting calls from residents about smoke from fires as well.

As much of a bother as it may be, it comes down to the word “nuisance.”

Rhome said he, the code officer, and police Chief R.T. Bell have different views on the meaning of the word nuisance as it reads in the ordinance, and that’s been complicating the enforcement of illegal fires.

Rhome, the borough solicitor, and Bell said they will meet to more thoroughly define the ordinance and send the issue back to committee for review.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Brian Casper, of 214 Bar St., said he thought this problem would have been taken care of years ago.

“It’s frustrating. People that don’t care seem to get preference here. This isn’t an isolated incident. It’s been going on for five years,” he said.

Councilman Paul Sharkady said he’s seen instances where some have skirted the
ordinance through a technicality.

“I’ve been down there where they’re doing these fires. They pull out a marshmallow and a stick when the cops come around. Once they’re gone, so are the marshmallows,” he said.

Councilman Rich Russo told Casper to get neighbors on record with a petition in the meantime instead of going through the lengthy process of filing something with the magistrate.

As for what constitutes a recreational fire, there must be an extinguisher, a reasonably sized receptacle for the fire, and a crowd observably enjoying the fire.