MY local fire department has STUPID policies.....

[RobertN]

That is good point. At least with all the regular phones, cell phones, email, text, someone could have contacted him and made alternate arrangements.

Let's not confuse the issue of making government work with the issue of the nature/quality of the burn pile. Working government means someone shows up, if that is the process, and either approves or denies the burn. If denied, that is an excellent time for education on the matter. Fire Chiefs work to prevent fires too.

Bottom line, don't make up rules if you aren't willing or able to execute them.

 

[Buppies]

There are some really helpful posts on here and most certainly things I did not know. That being said being critical of one another seems to add nothing to the OP's post. It would seem to me everyone here can learn from each other without resorting to personal attacks

 

[murphy1244]

There are some really helpful posts on here and most certainly things I did not know. That being said being critical of one another seems to add nothing to the OP's post. It would seem to me everyone here can learn from each other without resorting to personal attacks

I think that started with Moron then the cat is out of the bag

 

[polo1665]

There are some really helpful posts on here and most certainly things I did not know. That being said being critical of one another seems to add nothing to the OP's post. It would seem to me everyone here can learn from each other without resorting to personal attacks

You know, I think that you are absolutely correct. No excuse, but I think some of us found it difficult to look past the OP's original post, which seemed to embody quite a bit of impatience, and frankly resembled more of a temper tantrum then anything else.

I really think, that if Bill (JD) uses the same tone in his daily dealings as he did in his original post, he is going to continue to be frustrated.

 

[RobertN]

Multiple responses of items in the pile that are illegal to burn. Lumber, door, table etc. That is illegal in most areas.

You would also get a response from the FD when you burned. As I posted previously, that means I(or fellow volunteers) are leaving our job, going on call etc.

That is really not the best scenario for all involved. I am continuing to be surprised by all the folks"just burn it".

From my experience, I think you're worrying too much. There's no problem that I see with your pile. I'd burn it if there was no response to my phone call. It'll be burnt up in no time. And with the snow - there's almost no chance of spreading a fire.

 

[geminimoon66]

My neighbors are Amish and have much bigger fires than we do. Sometimes when I burn a BIG pile I'll call sheriff dispatch and tell them i'm burning brush...

 

[rtimgray]

This thread made me look at our burning regulations. Thankfully, the state-wide rules are reasonable, and I have no other ordinances or restriction for the portion of the county that I live in.

I, by no means, live on a large spread of land, but I have burned much, much larger piles of trees/vegetation than in the OP's picture. Of course there is some concern with any fire, but the chance of flying embers igniting a distant source is pretty small in this case. I've been burning piles every weekend as I clear fence rows, and they have been much larger than 5'x5'x3'; I am very thankful thank I do not have to procure a burn permit.

When I do burn large piles, I generally have either my tractor or dozer or both nearby. I've got my satellite radio on my tractor, so that's why it's there even if I don't need it. I usually also keep a shovel handy in case some of the fire starts to stray away from the pile. Generally, if it does burn off some of the grass, I let it burn until it's about 10' away from the pile then snuff it out.

I would like to think that I exercise common sense when burning, and I don't burn when it's really dry or really windy - I think that's a reasonable precaution.

As much as I commonly disagree with some of the OP's comments, in this case, I think I'm on his side. If the ordinance requires a permit, then the inspections should take place in a timely manner. I would have been very much inclined to light up anyway. I don't think the pile is too big by any means. I think this is a case of politics for politics sake, and in the end, the taxpayer is something of a victim.

I do appreciate volunteer fire departments, which we have around here. They have demonstrated that they are reasonably competent to drive fire trucks in parades and hold out boots at intersections when collecting money. Seriously, they do provide the community a valuable service. They are usually able to keep the neighbors house from burning down, which is important, because I don't expect volunteers to be able to respond in the same manner as a staffed fire department.

I know some of the guys on the fire department and I've heard them give out some of the same complaints that I've seen on this thread, and I always ask "If it's such an inconvenience, why bother?" They will usually give me an answer about being a community servant or helping others or whatever, and that's fine. Some of them are just attracted to the noise and spectacle of catastrophes and what better way to get a front row seat than be on the fire department. For whatever reason they are on the VFD, good for them, I'm glad they're there, but I feel you shouldn't complain about something you're volunteering to do.

Good luck and take care.

 

[Zick]

Typical OP thread....nothing but bitching and complaining about everyone else.

 

[dave1949]

You have the wrong idea about VFDs. VFDs have EVERY right to complain. The paid FD do not have any right to complain because that is their job and you pay your taxes for their salary. So what do you say about let's not have volunteers and increase taxes to cover salaries. :thumbsup:

I'm not sure my community could afford paid fire fighters. It would certainly raise taxes even if we had 3-4 full-time people on duty and the rest were paid per call.

With so many wood-frame buildings and wood heat, candles, oil lamps, the history of New England is rich with very destructive house, school, municipal and commercial building fires. Volunteer departments probably originated as a means of limiting the cost of fires.

You wouldn't want to pay the taxes for a new school and see it go up in smoke a few years later. Plus, much of Maine's early economy was timber based. Fighting a forest fire amounted to job and/or income protection. One person against a fire is not a good match-up, so it seems natural that people would cooperatively band together and combine their resources.

When you sign up to join the VFD here, they still ask about what equipment you own: tractor, backhoe, truck, etc. that would be useful in fire fighting. I assume that has historical roots.

I don't think the reasons people volunteer today are so very different than the reasons in the past. Primarily it is an affordable way to get some community fire protection although I think the threat level is far less than in the past. I help out at the local VFD (for $0) because I know without volunteers and barely paid positions, most of the town's functions would cease and it would be a poorer place to live as a result.

 

[MH8675309]

That's a huge pile - at least let them know when you burn it since from a distance it will throw off enough smoke that it will look like some kind of structure fire. If the boys in red make a trip for no reason they'll want to be paid for the fire run. Try to work with them and figure it out amicably - you might need a favor from the township someday,,,