Backyard and Community Fires

I am total against the back yard fires. My sister lives in Kitchener and next door a guy lives that does outdoor decks. At night he has fires burning all the pressure treated old decks he removes. You cannot open your windows or site in your own back yard. If only every one followed the rules it would be great but there are a lot of people out that don’t care

I am surprised that the City of Waterloo did not look at other bylaws that allow this?

I am in favour of allowing a small fire in a safe fire pit going forward. I could not believe all the proposed regulations in the survey and regulations. I own properties in other municipalities that allow this. Might I suggest to the powers at be that they bench mark these municipalities' bylaws and stop wasting money and time coming up with their own by-law. Others have solved it and there is no need to re-invent the wheel. Had the City looked at the bylaws instead of their absurd proposed regulations, staff may have noticed a wind limit so that smoke does not blow around and extinguishing expectations as well.

Bylaw or not I'm going to continue having a small fire in my backyard like I have been for years. People here talking about polluting the air like we don't have vehicles swarming the roadways and factories around the city. Whats next, complaining that you can't leave your Windows open because you don't like what your neighbors are cooking? My BBQ smokes more than my fires do. How fragile are you people? If youre worried about the "health hazards" I think you're being ridiculous and just want to ruin things for everyone else. I also have a wood fireplace in my house, should I not be using that either?

Let's have a carefully thought out bylaw, permitting backyard fires that respect those who would be affected by them, whether it be personal preference, asthma, etc. It should be possible to craft a bylaw that caters to these needs. For example, issue permits to those with a minimum backyard size, require neighbors to sign off on the fire pit, and limit fires to a few hours in the evening, and prohibit fires on windy days. As a responsible home owner, I would have no problem adhering to a bylaw like this, designed to respect my neighbors, and I would understand if my neighbors preferred I did not have a campfire.

However at least give us the option! I would love to enjoy a small, controlled campfire, probably in a smokeless fire pit, allowing me to roast marshmallows a couple times a year with my young kids.

It causes me anxiety to think about the problems allowing open burning in my neighborhood. Everyone claims we are all adults as if adults never cause problems. I had to move from a home due to a disrespectful neighbor who, among other things, thought it was okay to regularly burn refuse in the form of large bon fires in their yard. Besides the smoke wafting into my house, it created a dangerous situation. Yes I called bylaw and yes I called the fire department. Don’t think taxpayers should have to pay for the cost of that but they did. Most years in newer areas are not even big enough to safely permit fires. Please don’t do this.

Because of breathing issues I also am against backyard fires. People who want to be able to build a fire in their backyard have the physical ability to find various ways of getting together with others and entertaining. However, people with health issues can be quite limited and the smell of smoke will further limit them. I enjoy an evening on our back deck which I will no longer have. We have an expensive air exchange unit on our furnace which changes the air three times a day. If there are fires, it will be bringing in smoky air instead of clean, filtered air.
If people want fires, compromise and use gas fireplaces for outdoors.

I have to laugh about all the people that complain about air pollution, the smell and smoke. Absolutely no different than me using my wood burning fireplace, and the smoke and smell going up the chimney. And if I burn unseasoned soft wood the smoke is greater.
In the fireplace, in the house, I can burn whatever I want too.
I'd love to sit in my backyard, around a small wood burning fire, roasting some marshmallows with the kids, having a glass of wine under the stars.............. Whatever happened in this city?

The Real Reason Waterloo doesn’t allow fires is because we have 2 Universities here, and Absentee landlords that didn’t monitor their rental properties years ago. Things eventually get out of hand as they get bigger and are harder to control( Ie:St.Patrick’s day on Ezra). Then they pull the plug completely!! Hopefully once they allow “small backyard fires”, the responsibility should put on the OWNER of the address to comply with the by-laws put in place....not the tenants that just temporarily occupy them and ruin it for everyone because of their immaturity. Just sayin’

Absolutely against permitting backyard fires in Waterloo city limits having experienced many problems with neighbours in Waterloo in the past with backyard fires. Health, noise, safety are the top issues for us and there are opportunities for people to have fires elsewhere. We don't need this campaign by a minority to adversely affect the majority of residents in Waterloo who don't want backyard fires.

great idea

Small 'recreational' fire should be allowed. I don't think massive yard waste bonfires are acceptable, and that is not the use case that anybody wants, but a few logs in a fire pit is a very nice social activity on a chilly fall day. We live outside a large metropolitan area, and this is one of the benefits we get, so let's enjoy it!

Strongly supportive of allowing backyard fires *so long as neighbours do not mind*, which is how the system works in Kitchener. One option to reduce air quality issues is to use high-efficiency "smoke free" burn systems like these Canadian kickstarter options: https://good2goco.ca/collections/solo-stove-1

The main comments here are about air pollution / smoke which is only a problem with wood or solid fuel fires. You can't treat propane fire pits the same as wood fire pits. Both still need safety regulations but with propane or liquid fuel fire pits, there isn't the same air pollution issue which seems to be the main concern.

great idea

Hello there, I live in Kitchener and I do enjoy the occasional fire. I do agree 100% that it can bother others if there is smoke. However if you are burning dry wood there is very little smoke. Certain properties could present problem. So why not just have a fire permit. The city will love the money and they can take the money from the permit process to police people that burn wet wood. Have a great day, I am looking forward to another fire this weekend and a way to have friends over without all the stress of should we be inside. Soon I have a plan to install a porta potty.

Living two city blocks from the Kitchener boundary, where backyard fires are permitted, the Waterloo by-law is entirely arbitrary. Practiced safely, I support allowing backyard fires.

I absolutely disagree with allowing backyard fires.

The bylaw wording has to be clear so barbecues are not included in any of the discussion.

I am absolutely opposed to backyard fires. They aren't doing the environment any favours and I am tired of having to close my windows on a nice day because someone else wants to pollute the air.