Grimsby Fire Dept. to gather community feedback for open air fire licensing revisions

By Tristan Marks
NewsNow

The Grimsby Fire Department will be reviewing the Town’s current open air fire bylaws and it wants to hear from the public.

Starting next week, Grimsby residents will have the opportunity to partake in a survey and send their opinion on the current bylaw and licensing regimen.

The survey will be open online from Jan. 4-Feb. 15. The Fire Department will make the link available once the survey is ready to go.

The survey can also be conducted by call-in for those who opt to not complete the online survey.

Fire prevention officer Jason Mottershead said his department is interested in gauging just how much public support exists for changing the bylaw.

“We’re going to see if people are in favour of changing this,” said Mottershead.

“However, we also want to keep the Town safe.”

As it stands, the Town does not permit any open air burns below the escarpment.

Farmers require a permit, residents above the escarpment or below that meet the requirements of the current bylaw are permitted to have an open air fire without a permit.

One can apply for such a permit online at Grimsby.ca.

An open air fire refers to any fire that is conducted outside a building or structure, with some exceptions for industrial and manufacturing purposes.

The fire department will take the community feedback gathered through this survey into consideration as they prepare a review on the current bylaw to be submitted to Town Council later in 2021.