Denver Fire Dept made me put out my puny fire

[bansai]

So, this is off topic, but I pulled a bunch of firewood out of our camper on sunday that I figured I would use in our back yard fire pit here in Denver (it has been extremely cold here lately, as in a lot of areas) but it's warm enough tonight to get outside at least.

I just get the fire going decently.. maybe 2 of those typical pieces of pine you get in the bundles at the camp ground... small fire, totally contained and surrounded by whats left of our snow, I pour a small glass of wine and grab a chair. Within 5 minutes the denver fire department shows up at my front door. "Sir, if you don't put that fire out right now, we're going to." NO FIRES IN DENVER!!!" Yes sir, you don't have to yell as I emptied the contents of one of my chicken coop water jugs down the chimney. My wife, being the nice person she is, invited them in for tacos but of course that didn't happen... no ma'am we have to get back to the station and work calls that we actually care about, 'have a good evening'.

I've lived here since 1989 and had fires in my back yard every year.

Completely illegal in Denver even though the Lowes and Home depot up the street sell pallets of these fire pits and chimneas every year. Go figure... if I had a grill on top of the chimney, it would officially be considered a BBQ and it would be legal.

One more reason to leave the city. Apparently I've irritated one of my neighbors by enjoying my back yard a little too much. Someone ratted us out but they couldn't tell us who. I need to get out of the city... confirmed.

I could smoke a bale of marijuana in my back yard and that's all ok, but burn a few pieces of pine and I'm breakin the law...

Off topic rant over

[cariboocreek]

That's why I live in the sticks. Shoot gophers, have fires, run around at midnight howling at the moon....or all three at once

[abarkl]

We live in the big city and have often given second thought to allowing any occasional backyard enjoyment and fire to get too big. Although we live in a neighborhood with 6' walls if a fire was to get too big it would probably quickly draw the wrong type of attention and become misinterpreted.

[Jagiven]

Seams odd! I would check the rules/regulations, ensure to follow them, than have a copy handy, and build your fire. When they arrive show the regulations and ask how you are breaking them. Have a few hotdogs or marshmellows handy.

Some neighbor does not lie it.

[bansai]

No, it's definitely illegal here. It's one of those laws that are only enforced when someone complains, but I verified it's in the statutes here. They don't roll the trucks here unless they have a valid call. They seldom write tickets, they just ruin your evening (or try to).

Back in the early 80's denver had a horrible 'brown cloud' that choked out the city in the winter months, they banned open burning during that period, and new homes couldn't have wood burning fire places installed. If you wanted a real fireplace in your house, you had to buy an older (and better) home that was grandfathered in. We have one of those older homes so i burned the rest of my firewood in my fireplace, but because it was wet at this point, I made sure that I laid a nice layer of legal wood smoke all over my neighborhood. That's how I roll though, i will have my fire one way or another.

You are right though, I made someone mad, just can't imagine how. Oh well... first world problems right? The fire I had in my back yard wasn't making any noticeable smoke. Just irritating when people don't mind their own business and go out of their way to be the grinch. I guess the world is full of that type.

[Tunce the traveler]

We've never given it a thought, then again it not the city. Looks like it's time for you to move to upstate New York on the St. Lawrence River, my wife's summer home.

[bansai]

Now that, is an awesome picture. Summer can't get here fast enough.

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by bansai

Summer can't get here fast enough.

Tell me, we live in Bellingham during the winter and with all the rain we get the only fire I have is this picture.

[Rustysocket]

Originally Posted by Tunce the traveler

Tell me, we live in Bellingham during the winter and with all the rain we get the only fire I have is this picture.

I'm sick of the rain already myself this year.... and it really hasn't started yet.

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by Rustysocket

I'm sick of the rain already myself this year.... and it really hasn't started yet.

It's not called the Evergreen State for nothing.

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by Tunce the traveler

Tell me, we live in Bellingham during the winter and with all the rain we get the only fire I have is this picture.

Being just a couple hours south of you I'm in the same boat this time of year. As we are in an unincorporated part of the county I have no trouble using the portable outdoor fire pit when the weather permits. A number of years ago we ripped out the cheezy natural gas logs that the previous owner had installed in the fire place and replaced it with a good certified wood insert with a clear glass door. While not quite the same as an open fire it's a nice compromise. The only complaints I get are from the fur-babies when there's not a fire going....

[RoyBraddy]

We have similar rules here in our small Virginia county. No OPEN fires come and go with the wind so to speak. I never know for sure if this applies to firepits with covers or not. I sort of suspect it refers to leaf burning on top of the ground. Afraid to ask haha...

We can't afford the high dollar delivered paper so at the mercy of finding out the fire ban's from here-say second hand news reports...

I love to sit around my steel fire pit with cover in my back yard all the time... My only heat here is from a fireplace in my house. The Propane Furnace quit on me years ago. They want thousands of dollars to repair them...

I heat with wood so its a big effort on my part to find firewood and busting it up in stacks around my property. When it gets closer to the cold winter months I am out there everyday busting up wood and sitting around the firepit drinking my favorite fresh ground and brewed bean coffee.

I have a County Fire Dept Captain that lives down the street and he went to school here in the county with my kids... Same with the local Sheriff's office troopers. They stop in for coffee when I am sitting around the firepit and visit when they are on patrol here on this side of the county.

All the houses here built in the 50s-60s all seem to have built-in fireplaces so i use mine for sure with a slide-in metal fireplace insert with fan... I usually get the firewood for free from the tree cutters around the neighborhood here. Very seldom have to purchase firewood and have it trucked in.

I see the propane trucks hit all of the houses around here during the winter months and kinda know how much they charge delivering each load of propane. It is not a cheap thing...

There are least three or four of us here in this neighborhood section that burn wood fires in our houses. My chimney is putting out white wood smoke as we type this... I'm not the only only using the firepit on the patio or in my back yard as well...

During the winter months when we drive to the local bigger town for groceries and doctor visits we see alot of chimneys putting out white smoke in these modern times...


I guess if I had an irate neighbor I would suffer the same routine as well.

It would get very cold here if I got shut down by the Fire Department.

Roy Ken

[bansai]

I'm one block inside the city limits. Sounds like the exact same thing that happened to these people just happened to me.

Turns out that outdoor fireplaces are illegal in Denver | Westword

I have an extra BBQ grate laying around, I'll just turn it into something that I could cook on and then we're ok. It won't stop them from coming out, but it will stop them from making me put it out or getting a ticket. The stuff we have to go through.... oh well.

[Khans Keeper]

LOL, that article made me laugh when they talk about wood fire smoke being more dangerous than second hand cigarette smoke. I guess it could be if it was contained in a non vented space, but lets be realistic, nobody is concentrating and huffing wood smoke. Sounds like crap to me. I have asthma and I heat our house with wood, no issues. I cant imagine an outdoor fire being a health risk to someone else.

[bansai]

I know, crazy isn't it? All of my neighbors would already be dead if that was true. I have a fire going in my wood stove almost all winter.

Smoking oak is now as bad as smokin crack I guess.

Be right back, I'm going to go light me up spleef of some fine cherry hard wood I have sitting in my garage.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by Khans Keeper

snip... I cant imagine an outdoor fire being a health risk to someone else.

Denver has (had?) a problem with air stagnation a certain times, especially during the winter. In the late 70's and early 80's when we lived in CO north of Denver, the TV news would show the brown cloud over Denver. Folks with asthma did have problems.

Along the 'front range' of CO they implemented auto exhaust emissions testing primarily because of Denver's air pollution problem.

[bansai]

Very true, we still get a bit of the brown cloud like we had in the 80's, just not nearly as bad. Not sure how much of that improvement is due to cleaner cars vs. wood burning. Both apply I'm sure.

The outside fire ban only applies to Denver city limits, and as I'm sure you know Denver makes up a small portion of the metro area. I'm actually only 1 block from being in Littleton, 2 blocks from being in Sheridan, and 4 blocks away from Lakewood. I can burn my Chimnea in all of those places. Just stinks.. but we'll survive until we can get out of here.

[shadester]

The bans are all over the country now thanks to the secondhand smoke movement. I have 80 acres in the country in NY. Only thing we can burn now is a 3' x 3' or less campfire .
And that's only certain months of the year.

[Mountain Cajun]

Denver Fire Department can be irritating. I worked a an independent power plant next to Xcel's Arapahoe plant. Denver Fire came for inspections and made us change all our EXIT signs from red to green. REALLY! Retired now so I don't have to put up with crap like that anymore! And I can light up one where ever I am!

[Mustang65]

OK, so do you want to piss off your unknown neighbor reporting you? Get one of those not so real fire pits that have those fake fires that look real. Bring it outside after it gets dark, along with a small electric heater and no one can really make out what it is. Make sure that there are no yard lights on, hide the electric extension cord, and then plug the phony fire pit in. All that should be seen is the imitation fire. It would be even greater to get one of those non fire smoke machines to enhance the no fire, fire.

Well, that unknown neighbor will probably be furious and you can already imagine their next step, have a copy of the complete city ordinances ready for when you know who arrives, so that you can discuss imitation fires, and its relationship to the city ordinance. If they would like. Ask them if they would like to stay for a hot chocolate, unfortunately made in the microwave? Thank them for coming.

If this happened a few times the individuals arriving would more than likely get aggravated with the unknown reporting neighbor..... Now to really PISS off the unknown reporting neighbor, go outside the Denver city limits with your fire wood, build a small fire with marshmallows, DW, enjoy about 15 minutes of a nice camp fire, take pictures, then put it out with water, make sure they are totally out... and some how transport them back to your yard and hide them. The next night pull out your imitation fire, crank it up, the both of you have a hot chocolate, then shut it down, move the imitation fire pit inside. Sneak out in the dark and put the burnt fire wood in the area where the imitation fire pit was.... I am sure the unknown reporting neighbor will notice them and really get pissed. But you will be the only one walking around with a SMILE on your face.

Have fun

Don