Before Saskatoon city council votes on the future of fire pits in the city, councillors want more information from the Saskatoon Fire Department.
The matter came before the city’s planning, development and community services committee, after a mother told councillors last year that wood smoke aggravates her son’s asthma.
READ MORE: The rules governing fire pit use in Saskatoon
On Monday, Caswell Hill resident Charlotte Garrett told the committee her gardening sessions have been cut short by neighbours burning wood in fire pits.
“My eyes burn, my chest hurts and it’s unbearable actually,” Garrett said.
In 2016, the fire department received 192 fire pit-related complaints. Twenty addresses were visited more than once, accounting for 50 of the calls.
In a report, the fire department gave the committee four options in considering possible amendments to the city’s Fire and Protective Services bylaw:
- Limit open-air fires between certain hours and/or days of the week;
- Require permits for all open-air fires;
- Prohibit all open fires; or
- Leave the bylaw unchanged.
Mayor Charlie Clark noted some provisions already exist to prevent fires from harming people’s health.
One section of the bylaw reads: “If smoke from an open-air fire causes an unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of another person’s property, the fire shall be extinguished immediately.”
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A compromise would be to allow propane or natural gas fires, according to Jennifer May, vice-president of health promotion at the Lung Association of Saskatchewan.
“We want to see all wood burning fire pits banned from the city of Saskatoon. The middle ground would be, maybe we can look at a phase-out approach,” May said.
Council asked the fire department to report back on the options it presented, along with how permits would work, what other jurisdictions do and what cleaner options exist.
Fire officials will also examine the nature of previous complaints, enforcement options and the appropriate duration for people to use fire pits.
There’s no timeline in place for the fire department to return with its findings.
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