Burn Permit

Call the Sun Prairie Volunteer Fire Department to notify the Department of your burn @ 608-837-5066.  Leave a message on the recorder.

2002-1

AN ORDINANCE REPEALING AND RECREATING THE

TOWN’S OPEN BURNING ORDINANCE

The Town Board of Supervisors of the Town of Sun Prairie do hereby ordain as follows:

ARTICLE ONE.  Ordinance 92-2 of the Town of Sun Prairie is repealed.

ARTICLE TWO.  Ordinance 2002-1 is created to read:

ORDINANCE 2002-1.  OPEN BURNING PROHIBITED EXCEPT BY PERMIT.

Section 1.  No person may ignite a fire, add combustible material to a fire, or allow a fire to spread for the purpose of open burning or burning of waste in violation of this ordinance or any existing laws or restrictions.  As used in this ordinance, the term “burn barrel” means a metal 55-gallon drum or barrel, open at one end, which is used to incinerate waste.

Section 2.  Burning Permits.

(a) Every person who undertakes burning allowed under this ordinance shall first obtain a permit for the burning activity from the Sun Prairie Volunteer Fire Department.

(b) The person seeking permission to burn shall provide the Fire Department with the name, address, and phone number of the person seeking the permit.

(c) The applicant shall inform the Fire Department of the date, time and location of the proposed burn, the type of material being burned, and the precautions being taken to contain the fire and avoid injury to people or damage to property.

(d) A permit shall be valid only for the date and time on which it is granted.

(e) A permit granted on the basis of false or erroneous information is invalid and does not relieve the applicant of the penalties provided in this ordinance.

(f) The Fire Department may revoke a permit based on the determination that the applicant provided false or inaccurate information.  The Fire Department may decline to issue permits on the basis of prior incidents of improper burning by the applicant.

(g) There shall be no fee for burn permits.

Section 3.  Restrictions on Permitted Burning.  No person issued a permit for open burning may use the permit to burn materials under any of the following circumstances:

(a) On the road, streets, curb or gutter of streets.

(b) On public property.

(c)  After sunset or on Sundays or legal holidays, except by special advance permission of the Fire Department.

Section 4.  Burning Prohibitions.  The Sun Prairie Volunteer Fire Department may, during conditions of dry weather, high winds or other circumstances, which make burning unusually hazardous, prohibit all open burning of all kinds and revoke already granted permits.  All burning shall be prohibited at any time when the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has declared a fire emergency in the Town.

Section 5. Open Burning Procedures. All allowed open burning shall be conducted in a safe manner, when wind and weather conditions are such as to minimize adverse effects and in conformance with local and state fire protection regulations.

Residents and persons, within the Town of Sun Prairie, who have been issued a town permit, may engage in open burning as follows:

(a)  Burning of brush or weeds on agricultural lands.

(b) Fires set for practice and instruction of fire fighters, or testing of fire fighting equipment.

(c) Backfires to control forest fires or fires set for forest or wildlife habitat management with approval of the Department of Natural Resources where no reasonable alternative is available.

(d) Burning of explosive or dangerous material for which there is no other safe means of disposal.

(e) Burning of small amounts of dry combustible rubbish (not to include wet combustible rubbish, garbage, oily substances, asphalt, and plastic or rubber products) except where prohibited by local ordinance.

(f) Burning at rural or isolated solid waste disposal sites outside of the Southeastern Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region, which have been approved under s. NR 506.04, or burning of special waste where permits are obtained from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

(g) Outdoor fires in fire rings or places for cooking, ceremonies or recreation.

(h) Burning of trees, limbs, stumps, brush or weeds for clearing or maintenance of rights-of-ways.

(i) Burning of trees, wood, brush or demolition materials, excluding asphaltic or rubber material, using methods approved by the Department of Natural Resources.

(j) Small open flames for welding, acetylene torches, safety flares, heating tar or similar applications.

(k) Burning of gaseous or liquid waste in a manner approved by the Department of Natural Resources.

(l) Burning of small amounts of dry leaves and dry plant clippings except where prohibited in section 6 of this ordinance.

(m) Campfires provided they are smaller than 36 inches in diameter and contained within a ring of non-combustible material such as stone, metal or concrete.

Section 6.  Residents of the Drover’s Woods Subdivision, including Prospector Lane, may burn allowable materials only:

(a) In one burn barrel per residential lot.

(b) Such a burn barrel must be no larger than a 55-gallon barrel,

(c) Burning of leaves is not allowed.

Section 7.  This ordinance does not apply to burning conducted under the following circumstances:

(a) Burning conducted in stoves, furnaces, legal incinerators, fireplaces or other devices, which are approved by Underwriter’s Laboratories for burning combustible materials.

(b) Grilling or cooking using charcoal, mesquite wood or other combustibles, in UL approved grilling or cooking appliances and/or see Section 5(m).

(c)  Burning in a Burn Barrel located at least 25 feet away from flammable structures.

Section 8. Management and Control.

(a) All persons engaged in open burning are responsible for containing the fire in the place in which it was set, including suppression of sparks and embers.

(b) All persons engaged in burning are responsible for assuring that the fire is properly and completely extinguished after the burning is concluded.

(c) All burning conducted in the Town shall be under the control of a responsible adult.

(d) All persons who start a fire in the Town are strictly liable for any and all damages caused by that fire.

(e) Every property owner or occupant shall maintain their property free of fire hazards.  Upon receipt of a notice from the Fire Department, any person who has allowed a fire hazard to exist on their property shall immediately take adequate steps to remove the fire hazard.

Section 9.  Severability.  If any portion of this ordinance is determined to be unlawful or invalid, the remaining portion shall stand.

Section 10.  Penalties.  Any person who violates the provisions of this ordinance shall forfeit the following sums:

(a) Failure to obtain permit:  fifty dollars ($50.00)

(b) Failure to control fire:  two hundred dollars ($200.00)

(c)  Failure to keep property free of fire hazard: one hundred dollars ($100.00)

(d) Causing injury to property through negligence in handling of fire: five hundred dollars ($500.00).

ARTICLE THREE.  This ordinance shall take effect upon its publication in the official newspaper.

Adopted:  September 9, 2002

Published:  September 19, 2002

Dated this 9th day of September, 2002.