General Rules & Regulations
- Burning must not cause a nuisance. In the event the smoke from an open burn is determined by the Fire Department to be a nuisance to the surrounding properties the permit holder will be required to extinguish the fire.
- Permit holders wishing to burn shall contact the departments automated burn line after 9:00 a.m. each day to ascertain whether or not burning will be allowed. Permit holders must leave the location of the burn and permit number on the automated line.
- Burning must take place on the land closest to the source of the material to be burned, according to Department of Environmental Protection regulations (310 CMR DEP 7.07).
- Burning must take place at the LOCATION specified on the issued permit (a permit is only valid for a single location).
- Burning must be at least 75 feet from all buildings.
- A responsible person MUST be in attendance AT ALL TIMES while the fire is burning.
- A garden hose and water supply, as well as shovels or rakes for controlling the fire shall be present.
- Burning may not commence after 12:00 P.M.
- All burning will cease and fires shall be extinguished by 4:00 P.M.
- The Brewster Fire Department reserves the right to inspect a burning site at any time.
- *Weather conditions can change rapidly, especially in the spring, and the fire department will determine on a daily basis when it is safe to conduct open burning. If winds kick up or other atmospheric conditions change suddenly, making it unsafe to burn, permits can be rescinded.*
Burning of the following materials with a permit is allowed:
- Brush, cane, driftwood, and forestry debris from other than commercial and/or industrial land clearing operations.
- Materials normally associated with the pursuit of agriculture such as fruit tree prunings, dead raspberry stalks, blueberry patches for pruning purposes, and infected bee hives for disease control.
- Trees and brush resulting from agricultural land clearing.
- Fungus infected elm wood, if no other acceptable means of disposal is available.
Open Burning Regulations prohibit the burning of the following materials:
- Burning of brush, trees, cane and driftwood from commercial and/or industrial land clearing operations.
- Burning of grass, hay, leaves and stumps, and tires.
- Burning of trees.
- Burning during adverse meteorological conditions.
- Burning at landfills or refuse disposal facilities other than approved incinerators.
- Burning construction material and debris.
- Stacking, placing, or storing combustible material such that the fire department may presume that it will be burned.
**Infractions to the above regulations by any violators may result in revocation of a permit and cancellation of open burning for the remainder of the open burning season. In certain cases fines may even be levied**
