East Zorra-Tavistock

The Township requires all burns to be called in to the Township Office. This helps us to ensure that fires are being performed in a safe way, as well as making sure that firefighters are only sent out to real fires - this saves money and makes sure that when a real fire happens, people and vehicles are available. Failure to call in a burn could mean that you'll be faced with the cost of sending firefighters out to your property.

Requirements for a burn:

• You may only burn wood or wood products
• Controlled burns cannot be held in villages or rural clusters
• The weather must be safe for a controlled burn (if it is too dry or windy, or there is a smog alert in place, permission for a burn might be denied)
• Fires will not be permitted while a fire ban is in place (fire bans are posted in our Newsroom. Subscribe to Keep Me Informed alerts for updates!)
• The burn cannot start after 4 PM, and must be completely extinguished by dusk

When you call in, please have the following information available:

• Telephone number where the person supervising the burn can be reached
  • If at all possible, the person supervising the fire should have a cell phone number where they can be reached so that fire dispatch can contact the supervisor if needed.
• Address of the property where the burn will be held (including 911 number)
• Location on property (for example: "In the field", "beside the barn")
  • When you pick a location, ensure that it's far away from any buildings or areas where the fire could spread. Be especially careful on windy days or during dry weather.
• Forms of extinguishing available (for example: Fire extinguisher; buckets of water)
• Material to be burned
• Date of controlled burn
• Start time and end time
• Weather conditions at the site

If burning on a weekend, please call us the Friday before. The township phone number is found at the Contact Us page.

You do not need to call before you burn in a proper firepit.

• Pit not to exceed 24" in diameter
• Pit will have sides no higher than 24"
• Placement of pit to be a minimum of 25 feet from buildings and combustibles (e.g. trees, wood fences, decks, sheds)
• Sufficient water or extinguishing agent are to be readily available to keep fire under control
• Fires must be supervised at all times
• It is recommended that only dry wood be burnt
• Avoid starting any fire on windy days
• Respect your neighbours, avoid having large quantities of smoke drifting towards neighbouring dwellings
• All toxic materials prohibited by the Canadian Environments Protection Act including treated , painted or laminated woods products, tires, plastic, rubber, asphalt, foam and insulation shall not be burnt at any time.

Ontario Fire Code 2.4.4.4 (1) states:
Open-air burning shall not take place unless:
      (a)  it has been approved, or 
      (b)  the open-air burning consists of a small, confined fire that is:
            (i)   used to cook food on a grill, barbecue or spit,
            (ii)  commensurate with the type and quantity of food being cooked, and
            (iii) supervised at all times