Proposed Open Air Fires Bylaw

The draft By-Law to Regulate the Setting and Maintaining of Open Air Fires within the City of Kingston was presented at a regular meeting of Kingston City Council on March 23. Review the bylaw and watch the discussion.

Kingston Fire & Rescue (KFR) has developed a proposed Open Air Fires Bylaw. This bylaw has been crafted by fire prevention officials and the City’s legal services team, based on best practices to help promote and ensure public safety.

If adopted by City Council, this proposed bylaw would introduce a permitting process. Based on your input received during an earlier phase of public engagement, KFR has determined that it will not recommend a permit fee to conduct open air fires in 2021.

The free permitting process, would require residents to read open air fire regulations. This would help ensure residents are informed about the regulations they must follow to protect themselves, their families, their property, their neighbours, and our first responders.

Considerations

• Risks posed to life, property and the environment. Safety is of utmost importance to KFR.
• Best practices followed by neighbouring municipalities. Ensuring we follow similar guidelines will help reduce confusion.
• Kingston includes both rural and urban areas.
• Execution of the bylaw.

KFR is seeking your input on key areas, including

• Defining key terms
• Additional exemptions to be considered
• General feedback on the document

Staff will review your input and may amend specific aspects of the bylaw based on feedback. All input will be compiled in a report, which will be presented to Council with the proposed bylaw in Q1 2021.