Allegheny County: Voluntarily Curtail Open Burning

PITTSBURGH, PA - Forgothe fire pit. That's the message from Allegheny County officials, who are asking residents to reduce the amount of smoke and air pollution they produce during the coronavirus outbreak.

In most county municipalities, recreational burning at least 15 feet from the property line is legal. But the county health and emergency services departments want residents to voluntarily refrain from such activities.

"With more people at home due to the pandemic, we have seen a significant increase in recreational burning," said Debra Bogen, director of the county health department."The resulting smoke reduces local air quality and for our neighbors and friends with chronic diseases such as asthma or COPD, local burns can trigger the need for more medication, emergency medical visits, and deterioration of the chronic conditions. "

Bogen noted that smoke can increase an individual’s susceptibility to the virus and canalso decrease a COVID-19 infected individual’s ability to fight thevirus and worsen their symptoms. It can also result in non-COVID infected individuals having to seek medical attention during the outbreak because of respiratory illness.