(a) No person or property owner shall cause or allow open burning in a restricted area except as provided in subsections (b) to (d) hereof or in Ohio R. C. 3704.11.
(b) Open burning shall be allowed for the following purposes without notification to or permission from the Ohio EPA:
(1) Heating tar, welding acetylene torches, highway safety flares, heating for warmth of outdoor workers and strikers, smudge pots, and similar occupational needs.
(2) Bonfires or campfires in approved containers/fire ring, and outdoor fireplace equipment, whether for cooking food for human consumption, pleasure, religious, ceremonial, warmth, recreational, or similar purposes, if the following conditions are met:
A. They shall be fueled with clean seasoned firewood, natural gas or equivalent, or any clean burning fuel with emissions that are equivalent to or lower than those created from the burning of seasoned firewood;
B. They shall not be used for waste disposal purposes; and
C. They shall have a total fire area of three feet or less in diameter and two feet or less in height.
D. The minimum required distance from a structure shall be 25 feet where the pile size is three feet or less in diameter and two feet or less in height.
E. Fires in approved containers may be within 25 feet of a structure but no closer than 15 feet of a structure.
F. They shall not be conducted within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material. Conditions which could cause a fire spread to within 25 feet of a structure shall be eliminated prior to ignition.
G. They shall be constantly attended by an adult until the fire is extinguished. At least one portable fire extinguisher with a minimum 4-A rating, two fire extinguishers with a minimum 2-A rating each, or other approved on-site fire extinguishing equipment, such as dirt, sand, water barrel, garden hose, or water truck, shall be available for immediate utilization.
(3) Disposal of hazardous explosive materials, military munitions or explosive devices that require immediate action to prevent endangerment of human health, public safety, property or the environment and that are excluded from the requirement to obtain a hazardous waste permit pursuant to paragraph (D)(1)(d) of rule 3745-50-45 of the Administrative Code.
(4) Recognized training in the use of fire extinguishers for commercial or industrial fire prevention.
Fires allowed by paragraphs (b) (1), (b) (2), and (b) (4) of this rule shall not be used for waste disposal purposes and without limit the foregoing shall be of minimum size sufficient for their intended purpose; the fuel shall be chosen to minimize the generation and emission of air contaminants.
(c) Open burning shall be allowed for the following purposes with prior notification to the Ohio EPA in accordance with paragraph (B) of rule 3745-l9-05 of the Administrative Code:
(1) Prevention or control of disease or pests, with written or verbal verification to the Ohio EPA from the local Health Department, cooperative extension service, Ohio Department of Agriculture, or U.S. Department of Agriculture, that open burning is the only appropriate disposal method.
(2) Bonfires or campfires used for ceremonial purposes that do not meet the requirements of paragraph (b)(2) of this rule, provided the following conditions are met:
A. They have a total fuel area no greater than five feet in diameter by five feet in height and shall burn no longer than three hours;
B. They are not used for waste disposal purposes; and
C. They are fueled with clean seasoned firewood, natural gas or equivalent, or any clean burning fuel with emissions that are equivalent to or lower than those created from the burning of seasoned firewood;
D. Any bonfire/campfire shall be constantly attended by an adult until the fire is extinguished.
(3) Disposal of agricultural waste generated on the premises if the following conditions are observed:
A. The fire is set only when atmospheric conditions will readily dissipate contaminants;
B. The fire does not create a visibility hazard on the roadways, railroad tracks, or air fields;
C. The fire is located at a point on the premises no less than one thousand feet from any inhabited building not located on said premises;
D. The wastes are stacked and dried to provide the best practicable condition for efficient burning; and
E. No materials are burned which contain rubber, grease, asphalt or liquid petroleum products.
(d) Open burning shall be allowed for the following purposes upon receipt of written permission from the Ohio EPA, in accordance with paragraph (A) of rule 3745-19-05 of the Administrative Code, provided that any conditions specified in the permission are followed:
(1) Disposal of ignitable or explosive materials where the Ohio EPA determines that there is no practical alternate method of disposal, excluding those materials identified in paragraph (b)(3) of this rule;
(2) Instruction in methods of fire fighting or for research in the control of fires as recognized by the State Fire Marshal Division of the Ohio Department of Commerce and the guidelines set forth in the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) publication 1403, provided that the application required in paragraph (A)(1) of rule 3745-19-05 is submitted by the commercial or public entity responsible for the instruction;
(3) In emergency or other extraordinary circumstances for any purpose determined to be necessary by the Ohio EPA;
(4) Recognized horticultural, silvicultural, range, or wildlife management practices; and
(5) Fires and/or pyrotechnic effects, for purposes other than waste disposal, set as part of film-making or video production activities for motion pictures and television. (Ord. 2006-140. Passed 10-5-06.)