(a) Definitions
The following words, terms and phrases are hereby defined for purposes of this section and shall have the meanings ascribed to them, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) “Person” means any individual, partnership, association, syndicate, company, firm, trust, corporation, department, bureau, agency, or other entity recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
(2) “Board” means the Township Board of Commissioners.
(3) “Garbage” means all putrescible animal and vegetable matter resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
(4) “Rubbish” means solids not considered to be highly flammable or explosive, including, but not limited to, rags, old clothes, leather, rubber, carpets, wood, excelsior, paper, ashes, tree branches, tree leaves, yard trimmings, furniture, tin cans, glass, crockery, masonry, and other similar materials.
(5) “Trade Waste” means all solid or liquid material or rubbish resulting from construction, building operations, or the prosecution of any business, trade, or industry, including, but not limited to, plastic products, cartons, paint, grease, oil and other petroleum products, chemicals, cinders and other forms of solid or liquid waste materials, provided however, that “trade waste” shall not include any coal refuse associated with the mining or preparation of coal.
(6) “Refuse” means garbage, rubbish, and trade waste.
(7) “Salvage operation” means any business, trade or industry engaged in whole or in part in salvaging or reclaiming any product or material, including, but not limited to, metals, chemicals, shipping containers, or drums.
(8) “Open fire” means a fire in which any material is burned in the open or in a receptacle other than a furnace or incinerator.
(9) “Furnace” means any enclosed device specifically designed for the burning of any material for the production of heat.
(10) “Incinerator” means any device specifically designed for the destruction by burning of refuse, sewage sludge, or any other combustible material.
(b) Prohibition of Open Fires
Except as hereinafter provided, no person shall, after the effective date of this section, cause, suffer, allow, or permit the ignition, feeding, or maintenance of any open fire tor the destruction of refuse or in the conduct of a salvage operation on any property under his or her control outside of any building. However, the burning of paper products or dry vegetable matter, such as wood or leaves, by open fire, when such fire is in conjunction with the occupancy of a parcel of land for single-family or two-family use, shall be lawful, provided that:
(1) Such burning shall be enclosed in a container no larger than a standard 55-gallon drum and shall have a cover to contain ashes and other materials therein, if the same should be necessary. Under no circumstances shall ashes, burning materials, or other wastes be permitted to escape the burning container.
(2) Such burning shall be permitted on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, between the hours of 7:00 AM and 12:00 noon. All fires shall be completely extinguished prior to the end of the permitted burning period. In the event of a drought or other conditions, the Board of Commissioners may, upon motion, temporarily suspend all open fires until such time as said threat due to drought or other condition has ended.
(3) Such burning shall be constantly attended by a competent person 16 years of age or older, until such burning is completely extinguished.
(4) A supply of water through a hose or other such extinguisher shall be readily available for the purpose of extinguishing the fire in the event of danger or excessive smoke.
(5) Such burning shall take place within the confines of the property owned, leased, or rented by the person or persons doing the burning and no closer to any adjoining property line than six feet.
(c) Exceptions
(1) Open fires may be set in the performance of an official duty of any public officer if the fire is necessary for:
A. The prevention of a fire hazard which cannot be abated by other means;
B. The protection of the public health; or
C. Training of Fire Department personnel.
(2) Open fires may be set and maintained after application to and approval thereof by the Board of Commissioners, which may impose conditions on any such approval.
(d) Recreational Fires
(1) Recreational fires must be contained (i.e., must be in either an approved fire pit or chiminea). An approved fire pit can be one of the following:
A. A portable, above-ground commercially manufactured wood-burning or propane fire pit lined with a non-combustible material;
B. A wood-burning chiminea made of clay or ceramic;
C. A permanently constructed fireplace or fire pit lined with a non-combustible material such as brick, rock, concrete or heavy gauge metal.
(2) Only clean dry firewood or liquid propane (in a propane pit) is allowed for a recreational fire. Burning of garbage, trash, plastic, rubber, grass, or tree trimmings, brush, painted or treated wood or lumber or any kind of construction or demolition debris is prohibited.
(3) Bonfires (burning directly on the ground) are not permitted except for Fire Department-approved activities such as Homecoming or training.
(e) Enforcement
Enforcement of this section shall be within the jurisdiction of both the Lawrence Park Police Department and the duly appointed Code Enforcement Officer.