OPEN BURN REGULATIONS
SEE ORDINANCE 92.80 FOR SPECIFICS
Permit Requirements:
Permits are not needed for the following: outdoor cooking fires, outdoor fireplaces, hand warming fires in noncombustible containers, smudge pots and similar occupational needs.
Open Burning Period:
Kenton County is designated as a modern nonattainment for ozone pursuant to 401 KAR 51:010, which states that open burning may only take place Oct 1st – April 30th of each year.
Open burning is permitted between the hours of 7am – 5pm, unless a 24 hour permit has been issued.
Permit Application:
Applications for open burning permit shall be requested from Erlanger Fire/EMS a minimum of twenty four (24) hours in advance. Applications for burning on Saturdays and Sundays must be received no later than 12:00 (noon) the Friday prior. Erlanger Fire/EMS Business number is 859-727-2488.
MATERIALS THAT MAY BE BURNED:
Fires may have the following: paper, cardboard, untreated lumber, trees and brush
Fires may not have: Shingles, tar paper, other roofing materials, treated lumber, pressboard or plywood, Cellotex, insulation panels, fiberglass insulation or similar, P.V.C., plastic piping or trim, or any other plastic, Styrofoam or derivatives thereof, any insulated wiring, leaf piles, residential or industrial trash, garbage and other solid waste material, or any other material deemed to be hazardous by Erlanger Fire/EMS.
The fuel used to start the fire must exclude flammable liquids like gasoline to minimize the generation of emission of air contaminants from the burning process and to prevent injury to the attendant.
Open Burning on Developed Land/Small Fires
(One day permits)
The location of open burning shall be a minimum of fifty (50) feet from any structure.
Provisions shall be made to prevent the spread of fire from crossing property lines.
The fire size shall be limited to no more than three (3) feet in diameter and no more than three (3) feet high.
Appropriate fire extinguishing equipment (i.e. garden hose, fire extinguishers, etc.) must be available for immediate use.
The fire must be attended at all times by a competent adult no less than eighteen (18) years of age.
Fires must be extinguished if windy conditions develop while burning.
Permitted bonfires shall use only seasoned dry firewood as fuel and shall not exceed five (5) feet indiameter and no more than five (5) feet high.
Open Burning on Undeveloped Land/Large Fires
(Multiple day permits)
The location of open burning shall be a minimum of three hundred (300) feet from any structure.
The fire size shall be limited to no more than thirty (30) feet in diameter and no more than fifteen (15) feet high.
A mechanical blower of the type to accelerate clean burning must be used. EPA regulations state thatemissions shall have at least forty percent (40%) opacity. This blower must be approved by ErlangerFire/EMS prior to starting the fire.
There must be at least one piece of earth moving equipment, with a competent operator, on the site until the fire is completely extinguished. This piece of equipment shall be capable of covering the burn sitequickly in case an emergency arises.
The fire attendant must have a telephone or similar means of communication that is accessible by Erlanger Fire/EMS. This should be indicated on the application.
If windy conditions exist or develop on the date of the open burn, the fire must be extinguished.
The attendant must call Kenton County Emergency Communications Center each day of the burn at 859-356-3191.