Spring Clean-up / Open Burning

Now that the weather has finally started to act like spring, the residents of Fairfax are probably looking at their yards, thinking about cleaning up the mess winter left behind.

If you plan to burn the tree branches that the winter weather left behind, please make sure you follow the Towns rules for open burning, and proceed in a safe manner.

Before burning you need to acquire a burn permit. The only exception is if you are having a “camp fire”.

A “camp fire” would be a recreational fire that is less than 36” in diameter, an example of this would be a fire that people would sit around to roast marshmallows, or just for the enjoyment of sitting around the fire.

To acquire a burn permit, please call the Fire Station during normal office hours, or call either Duane Leach or Paul Langelier on weekends or evenings.

With the current weather and ground conditions, we have concerns that the Fire Department will have another busy grass fire season, as we did last year. At this time, due to the weather we have been experiencing, the top cover of dead grass is very dry, and will ignite very easily, due to any sparks or embers that may result from a “controlled fire”.

If you burn, please have a garden hose handy, and wet down any surrounding brush that could be inadvertently ignited.

Also, be sure to thoroughly wet down any remaining hot coals from your fire, once you are done burning, before leaving it unattended. Even if you think your fire has burned itself out, it is possible for the wind to stir up the remaining hot coals, causing the fire to flare up and spread, several hours after you have finished burning.

Please visit the Fire Department section of the Fairfax-vt.gov web page for contact information, and for more information regarding open burning in the Town of Fairfax.

Respectfully,

David Raymond
Battalion Chief, FXFD