The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor As freestanding outdoor fireplaces grow more popular, Flin Flon Fire Chief Jim Petrie reminds residents that open flames are prohibited within city limits. Petrie says chimeneas and similar wood-burning units not designed for cooking are dangerous and violate city bylaw. 'There's no open flames allowed, so buy an approved barbecue instead,' he says. 'Make yourself safe and make your neighbours safe.' Petrie's biggest fear is that one of the units will start a residential blaze. 'The problem with those is, people overload them and you have...sparks coming out of the top of them, and then high winds, sparks carry,' says Petrie. 'Most people don't understand how a spark can carry, land on something and start another fire.' And sparks aren't the only concern. 'Some people put these things way too close to their siding,' explains the fire chief. 'A lot of houses today have gone with vinyl siding...(and) there have been fires caused by barbecues sitting way too close to vinyl siding.' Children are another worry. 'If you put something like that on your deck...and a child runs into it, the child can be burnt severely, severely burnt, because they heat up to very high temperatures,' he says. And since the units violate city bylaw, Petrie says there could be insurance issues should the worst happen. 'If one of those was to fall over and burn your deck down or your house down, it is against city bylaws to have them on your deck,' he says, 'so therefore, whether or not you're covered by insurance could be a questionable matter.' The freestanding fireplaces come with a disclaimer for owners to check with local fire bylaws, but Petrie says many people fail to take that step. Some of the fireplaces come with a clear warning that they not be used for cooking, and with good reason. Petrie says they give off toxins that you don't want in your food. If there's one thing Petrie has learned in his years of fighting fires, it's that you can never be too careful when it comes to flames. 'If something can go wrong, it will,' he says. 'It will eventually go wrong, and the more of something that you have in an area, the more likelihood is that something's going to happen.'
