(A) No person shall kindle or maintain any bonfire or rubbish fire or other open burning fire or authorize any such fire to be kindled or maintained within the limits of the City, except recreational fires, permitted landscape fires, and permitted leaf burning fires as hereinafter defined and except small open flames for heating tar, welding, acetylene torches, highway safety flares and the like.
(B) Recreational fires shall consist of the burning of fuels for a legitimate campfire, recreational, and cooking purposes, or in a domestic fireplace or device in areas where such burning is consistent with other laws.
(C) Recreational fires, permitted landscape fires, and permitted leaf burning fires shall be subject to the following conditions and restrictions:
(1) A recreational fire may only burn sticks, limbs, logs not exceeding four inches in diameter, charcoal, cooking fuel or camping fuel only.
(2) No recreational fire shall be burned or be permitted to smolder between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m.
(3) No recreational fire, permitted landscape fire, or permitted leaf burning fire shall be burned during periods of high wind or extreme drought.
(4) Recreational fires shall be in a fire pit, fire ring, outdoor fireplace, chiminea, or other such device designed for such burning, or shall be in an area surrounded by non-combustible material. If the recreational fire is not within a device designed for such burning, permission shall be obtained from the Mt. Vernon Fire Department before igniting the recreational fire; in addition, no recreational fire shall exceed an area dimension of 6 feet by 6 feet (i.e. no width or length measurement of the fire area shall exceed 6 feet).
(5) No garbage, trash, debris, waste, refuse, lumber, building materials, or tires shall be burned in a recreational fire, a permitted landscape fire, or leaf burning fire; no landscape waste (including leaves) except sticks, limbs, and logs described within subparagraph (A) above shall be burned in a recreational fire.
(6) No person shall willfully leave any recreational fire, permitted landscape fire, or leaf burning fire including any smoldering fire, unattended; a fire shall be considered unattended if a person of not at least 18 years of age is not physically present out-of-doors and in visible contact with the fire at all times.
(7) No recreational fire, permitted landscape fire, or leaf burning fire shall be burned upon any public street, public sidewalk, any drainage ditch within the public right-of-way, or any manhole cover or burned upon the property of another without written permission.
(8) Recreational fires, permitted recreational fires, and leaf burning fires shall be extinguished immediately upon direction of police or fire personnel.
(9) A leaf burning fire (which may burn leaves and also sticks and logs not exceeding four inches in diameter) may be burned as hereinafter stated, but on no other dates, except as may be permitted within subparagraph (D) below. A leaf burning fire is permitted between the hours of sunrise and sunset each day as determined by the Astronomical Applications Department of the U.S. Navy Observatory during the following periods: Monday through Sunday during each the second full week of April, the second full week of May, the second full week of October, and the second full week of November each year. Leaf burning may be prohibited during a permitted leaf burning period by order of the Chief of the Mt. Vernon Fire Department upon a determination by him that leaf burning constitutes a fire hazard due to high winds, dry conditions or other factors. No leaf burning fire shall be burned or shall be permitted to smolder between the hours of sunset and sunrise.
(D) No person within the City of Mt. Vernon shall burn any landscape waste (including leaves) on any date or at any time except (i) as hereinafter provided, (ii) except sticks, limbs, and logs within recreational fires or leaf burning fires as permitted as within subparagraph (C) above, and (iii) except leaves within leaf burning fires as permitted within subparagraph (C) above; provided, however, that in the event of an emergency or other special circumstance, the burning of landscape waste (including leaves) may be authorized for a definite period of time by the City Manager upon the written recommendation of the Fire Chief of the Mt. Vernon Fire Department, or by the Mayor by written declaration, or by the City Council by resolution. In addition, individuals who own five or more acres of contiguous property may burn landscape waste (including leaves) within the confines of their respective property, provided that only landscape waste which is generated from that property shall be burned; and individuals in possession of a valid permit issued by an agency of the State of Illinois or of the United States authorizing the burning of landscape waste may burn landscape waste in accordance with the terms of the permit; each of said fires being “permitted landscape fires”. In no event shall any person burn any landscape waste (including leaves) upon any public street, public sidewalk, any drainage ditch within the public right-of-way, or any manhole cover or upon the property of another without written permission. No permitted landscape fire shall be burned or shall be permitted to smolder between the hours of sunset and sunrise.
(E) Any person who shall violate the provisions of the Section shall be subject to the penalties provided in Chapter 10 of the Revised Code of Ordinances of the City of Mt. Vernon. In addition, any person who shall violate the provisions of this Section shall be liable for and shall reimburse the City for all costs and expenses incurred by the City, including without limitation any labor expenses, man hour costs, machinery and equipment costs, and any material costs, incurred by the Mt. Vernon Fire Department, associated with or relating to responding to the violation and/or fire or the containment of said fire, and all reasonable attorney’s fees and other costs incurred by the City in the collection of said costs and expenses.
(Prior Code, Art. 13, § 13.8)