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HOW TO
OBTAIN A
PERMIT
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OPEN
BURNING REQUIREMENTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Open burning under
poor atmospheric conditions can create a smoke nuisance, aggravate health and respiratory
conditions. If not done properly and controlled, it can also endanger life, real property,
and woodlands. For these reasons, open burning is closely regulated in Massachusetts by
multiple regulatory organizations.
You must obtain a PERMIT
for any open burning from the Northborough Fire Department, 11 Pierce Street.
There is a $5 permit fee for the season which runs from January 15 through
May 1st each year.
Burning rules include:
- Brush, cane, driftwood, forestry debris, agriculture-related
materials, agricultural land clearing only, and fungus-infected
elm-wood
are allowed
under the following conditions:
1. Burning must be at least 75 feet from any dwellings.
2. Burning must be carried out between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily.
3. Burning must take place on land closest to the source of the material to be burned.
Burning of the following materials is PROHIBITED and may
subject you to revocation of your permit and/or a fine:
- Grass, hay, leaves, and stumps
- Tires
- Construction materials and lumber
Also prohibited is:
- Stacking, placing, or storing combustible material such that the
department may presume that it will be burned.
- Failure to obtain a burning permit.
- Failure to fully extinguish the fire by 4 p.m. daily.
- Failure to control/contain the fire.
EACH day of burning, you must:
- Call 508-393-1537 to activate your permit. This must be done
between 9 a.m. and noon.
- Have a means of controlling the fire, such as a garden
hose, pressurized water pump, shovels and rakes, with
sufficient help.
- Attend fire at all times.
- Extinguish the fire fully by 4 p.m.
The Fire Chief maintains the right to
revoke any permits or to cancel any permits due to high forest fire danger or to deny a
permit to any person who he believes will not follow the Open Burning Requirements and
Responsibilities or to any person who has violated these requirements in the past.
Whoever violates any provision of 527 CMR 10.22 shall be
punished by a fine of not more than $500 plus the cost of suppression or by imprisonment
for not more than one month.
NORTHBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT
11 Pierce Street
Northborough, MA 01532
Business Telephone- (508) 393-1537
Emergency Telephone - 911
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