What do the Fire Danger Class Days mean?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Per RSA 227-L:17, the State of New Hampshire requires anyone who wishes to burn clean, ordinary combustibles such as leaves, brush or untreated lumber, or have a camp or cooking fire to have written permission from the landowner and a written fire permit from the local forest fire warden or local fire department in the town or city where the fire will be kindled.

Permission - No person shall kindle a fire upon the land of another without written permission from the owner, agent or caretaker thereof.

 

Permits – No person, firm or corporation shall kindle or cause to be kindled any fire or shall burn or cause to be burned any material, and no city or town shall kindle or maintain a fire on a public dump, except when the ground is covered with snow, without first obtaining the written permit from the forest fire warden of the town where the burning is to be done unless it is in the presence of the warden or the warden’s agent. The State Forester may make and adopt such reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary to give effect to the provision, and he shall prepare all state permits issued by Forest Fire Wardens, or his agent.

 

Liability – Any person, firm or corporation causing or kindling a fire without a permit, when a permit is required, and also any person by whose negligence or the negligence of his agents any fire shall be caused, is liable to the town for all expenses incurred in attending or extinguishing such fire. Every person who shall set fire on any land that shall run upon the land of another shall pay the owner all damages done by such fire.

 

Category 1 Fire - A small controlled fire, such as a camp or cooking fire.  It must be contained within a ring of fire resistive material or in a portable fireplace.  It cannot be greater than 2 ft. in diameter. It must be at least 25 ft. from a structure.  When conditions allow, a Category 1 Fire may be kindled at any time of day whether raining or not.  Category 1 permits may be issued as a seasonal permit, but may be suspended if the Forest Fire Warden determines fire conditions to be too high.

 

Category 2 Fire – A controlled fire, such as a camp or cooking fire.  It must be contained within a ring of fire resistive material or in a portable fireplace.  It cannot be greater than 4 ft. in diameter.  It must be at least 50 ft. from a structure.  When conditions allow, a Category 2 Fire may only be kindled between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. unless it is actually raining.  Category 2 permits may be issued as a seasonal permit, but may be suspended if the Forest Fire Warden determines fire conditions to be too high.

 

Category 3 Fire – A controlled fire greater than 4 ft. in diameter or a controlled fire not contained within a ring of fire resistive material.  It must be at least 50 ft. from a structure.  When conditions allow, a Category 3 Fire may only be kindled between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. unless it is actually raining.  Category 3 permits are typically issued for no more than one to three days depending on weather conditions.  Seasonal permits do not allow for Category 3 fires.

 

Category 1 or Category 2 Fires – When written permission has been obtained from the landowner, and a written permit from the Forest Fire Warden, or his agent, Category 1 or Category 2 fires may be kindled in fireplaces, at suitable times and in suitable places where they will not endanger woodlands. Category 1 and 2 fires must be kindled in an approved device or enclosed by a fire ring. Upon failure to totally extinguish such fires, the parties responsible are subject to the same liabilities and penalties as are prescribed for other fires.

 

Penalty – For kindling a fire in woodlands of another without written permission of the owner, or for kindling any fire without a written permit when a permit is required, a person may be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined up to $2,000.00, and/or imprisoned for a period of up to 1 year.

 

Why is a permit required?  Other than meeting the requirements of RSA 227-L:17, there are several reasons why permits are required.

• Permits are the first tool in Fire Prevention and education.

• It ensures that Forest Fire Wardens know where fires are occurring.  Often times a citizen may call 911 when they observe smoke in an area.  If the Warden knows there is a Fire Permit for that area they may investigate the call first rather than call out an entire Department.

• It allows the Forest Fire Warden to inform the public when unsafe fire conditions may be present or predicted.  This is important during times of High Fire Danger.

• It gives the Warden an opportunity to ensure that the fire is in a safe location and that the proper setbacks from structures are in place. (25 ft. for Category 1, 50 ft. for all others)

• It protects the air quality in the state by outlining the materials which may be burned (clean, untreated wood/brush no greater than 5 inches in diameter).

 

Where do I obtain a Fire Permit?  Fire Permits are obtained locally through the Forest Fire Warden, Deputy Warden’s and Issuing Agents. In Litchfield, you can obtain a fire permit either online or at the Fire Station.  Online Fire Permits can be obtained through the link at the top of the page or directly at the NH Division of Forests and Lands website.  While the Fire Station is manned, a written fire permit can be obtained for free.  The Litchfield Fire Station is located at 257 Charles Bancroft Highway in Litchfield, NH.    Please feel free to contact by phone at (603) 424-8071.  The Fire Department is open Monday-Friday from 8am-4pm except during emergencies, special details, and town holidays.

 

How much does a Fire Permit cost?  There is no cost to obtain a written fire permit at the Fire Station.  To obtain a permit online through the NH Division of Forests and Lands website, there is a $3.00 fee.

 

When is a Fire Permit Required?  A Fire Permit is required anytime there is not a 100 ft. radius of complete snow cover around the fire.  In Litchfield, a local town ordinance requires a permit be obtained even when there is a snow cover on the ground (see ordinance below).

 

What time can a fire be kindled?  Fires may only be kindled after 5:00 p.m. and must be extinguished before 9:00 a.m.  There are two exemptions to this:

1: When the Forest Fire Warden determines that conditions are appropriate Category 1 (Campfire) permits may allow for a small (under 2 ft. diameter) fire to be burned during the day.

2: When there is continuous rainfall, however, the fire must be extinguished when the rain stops and depending on what town you are burning in, there may be some variances to these times. A Fire Permit is still required when it is raining.

 

Why can I only burn between the hours of 5:00p.m. & 9:00a.m.?  There are several reasons that the state of New Hampshire requires that most open burning occur during the evening and nighttime hours.

• The main reason is to prevent and control wildland fires.  As the day progresses from morning to afternoon the environment changes and makes fire control more difficult.

• The temperature increases in the afternoon and the surface fuels on the ground are pre-heated.

• The relative humidity decreases in the afternoon and small fuels such as grasses, leaves and twigs dry out.

• Winds pick up allowing sparks and embers to travel away from the fire, making control more difficult.

• Being a mostly rural state, New Hampshire relies on volunteer Fire Departments.  During the daytime it is common for communities to have less coverage because many of their volunteers are at work.  In the event a permitted fire did escape control, a quicker response may occur during the evening hours than during the day.

 

What can be burned?  Clean, untreated wood and brush.  Material must be no greater than 5 in.  in diameter.

 

What cannot be burned?  Combustible domestic waste as defined by RSA-125N, including, but not limited to: household trash, packaging material, plastic, coated or laminated paper, rubber, painted or treated wood, coated or treated cardboard, oily rags, animal, vegetable and kitchen waste, treated wood or composite materials.

 

  

          

Town of Litchfield Ordinance to regulate and control the kindling, guarding, and safekeeping of fires within the town.

 

In accordance with the provisions of RSA 31:39I(e), the Town of Lichfield hereby adopts the following ordinance to provide for the control and regulation of the kindling, guarding and safekeeping of fires within the Town:

 

Section 1: No person, firm or corporation shall kindle or cause to be kindled any fire or shall burn or cause to be burned any material within the Town of Litchfield irrespective of whether the ground is covered with snow, without first obtaining a written permit from the Town Fire Chief or his designee.

 

Section 2: The Fire Chief or his designee may prohibit any and all outdoor fires and bonfires including but not limited to camp or cooking fires when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fires hazardous.

 

Section 3: Nothing in this ordinance shall be deemed to prohibit the use of wood in inside fireplaces and stoves used for cooking, the use of wood in fireplaces for decorative fires or the use of wood in fireplaces or stoves designated for heating.

 

Section 4: The Fire Chief shall establish reasonable regulations from time to time which shall be submitted to the Board of Selectmen for their approval which will specify the time, place, the equipment that is required to control the fire, and the number of persons required to be in attendance at any time until the fire is completely extinguished.

 

Section 5: Any person, firm or corporation causing or kindling a fire without a permit, when a permit is required, and also any person by whose negligence or the negligence of his agents any fire shall be caused, is liable to the Town for all expenses incurred in attending or extinguishing such fire.

 

Section 6: Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this ordinance, shall be fined not more than $1,000.00 or imprisoned one year, and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.

 

Section 7: The effective date of the Ordinance shall be May 1, 1993.

 

 

 

Seasonal Burning Permits

 

Seasonal permits are issued on an annual basis for Category 1 and Category 2 fires.  They may be issued to landowners, or residents with written permission from the landowner.   The permittee must be over the age of 18 years. 

 

Seasonal permits can be used any day, without additional verbal or written consent (conditions permitting).  Fires must be attended constantly until the fire is fully extinguished.  The fire must be kept a manageable size that can be easily extinguished by the permittee.

 

It is the responsibility of the person who obtains the permit to fully understand and assure compliance with the burning requirements of the Town of Litchfield and the State of New Hampshire.

 

Litchfield Fire Rescue reserves the right to inspect or rescind any or all burning permits at any time.  A fire deemed a nuisance by the fire department will be extinguished.

 

Any of the following violations will result in a seasonal fire permit being suspended:

 

1. If a fire is kindled which is in noncompliance with the Litchfield Fire Department’s “Information: Permits to Kindle Fire”, or the standards set forth by the State of New Hampshire.

 

2. If a fire is kindled, or material is burned during unfavorable weather conditions or when conditions shall include, but not limited to, wind, lack of precipitation, or any other factor which could increase fire hazard.

 

3. If a fire is kindled, or material is burned when specified assistance or suppression equipment is not present to control the fire.

 

4. If permittee fails to keep the fire under control, or Litchfield Fire Rescue feels the material being burned is causing an unusual hazard endangering life or property or both.

 

5. If material being burned violates any state law, rule, local ordinance or New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services rules regarding open burning.

 

6. If an open fire is left unattended at any time prior to it being completely extinguished.

 

7. If the permittee has had more than 2 open burning violations within the past 7 years, the privilege to burn will be suspended until such time as deemed appropriate by the Litchfield Fire Warden.

 

Seasonal Burn Permit holders are responsible to monitor the current fire danger prior to kindling a fire. If the fire danger is Class 4 (Very High), Class 5 (Extreme), or State Fire Ban, DO NOT BURN.  You are ultimately responsible, and will be held accountable for your fire.

 

For any additional questions regarding open burning in the Town of Litchfield, please feel free to contact Litchfield Fire Rescue at (603) 424-8071 or email them at info@litchfieldfd.com.