Joliet allows burning untreated wood within city limits

JOLIET – Burning is allowed in the city of Joliet with certain limits.

One is that the burning can’t bother any neighbors, and another is that the only thing that can be burned is untreated wood.

Joliet only allows burning in enclosed steel fire pits – the kind sold at stores, Joliet Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Carey said.

“It has to be an approved fire pit,” Carey said. “It has to be something with a screen around it so the embers don’t go flying. It can’t be homemade.”

An example of what can go wrong when burning occurred Wednesday afternoon when a Cass Street resident burned wood in a charcoal grill next to a shed. The shed caught fire from the flames.

Burning done in the approved outdoor pits typically is safe, Carey said.

It still must be stopped, however, if the smoke bothers a neighbor.

“If it causes a nuisance to the neighbor – if they have asthma, for example – we can make them extinguish it,” Carey said.

One reason for the untreated wood-only rule is to avoid the potential health hazards that would come from burning painted wood. No construction materials can be burned.

Most complaints about burning come in the fall, when people burn leaves, or the spring, when brush is burned, Carey said.

“If you’re burning normal wood, it usually doesn’t create too much smoke,” he said.

On Thursday, the city issued a news release listing these rules for burning:

• Use commercially sold, steel outdoor fire pits that are on legs attached to a steel bottom with wire mesh sides and top.

• Keep a fire extinguisher and garden hose available to put out the fire if needed.

• The pit should be at least 15 feet away from any structure or fence.

• Use wood or artificial logs that fit inside the wire mesh with the top in place.

• Do not burn wooden pallets, treated deck wood, leaves, dimensional lumber or garbage.

• The fire must be extinguished immediately if there is a complaint about smoke, flames, sparks or odors. A police officer can issue a compliance ticket with a charge of creating a public nuisance for open burning that is offensive or objectionable.

• Residents governed by rules of homeowners’ associations should verify that the association allows burning because some forbid the use of fire pits.