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TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mike Stanley, Fire Chief DATE: August 14, 2024 SUBJECT: Ord 24-466 Amend Section 13-7 of the City of Oshkosh Municipal Code Pertaining to Open Outdoor Fires, Outdoor Fireplaces, Cooking Fires, and Barbecue Grills, Kettles, and Outdoor Hibachis to Remove Permitting Requirements

BACKGROUND

The mission of the Oshkosh Fire Department is: “The City of Oshkosh Fire Department is a highly trained team that adds value to our community by providing a wide range of emergency services with skill and compassion.  We advocate risk reduction through prevention and education and we provide leadership in times of crises.” The fire department utilizes the national Community Risk Reduction (CRR) model to reduce risk in our community.  This process, known as “The Five Es,” relies on Education, Engineering, Enforcement, Emergency Response and Economic Incentives.  This model is a foundational piece of our recently completed Community Risk Assessment.

ANALYSIS

Recreational burning permits are a prevention practice that has been successfully implemented by numerous departments in our area, the State of Wisconsin, the Midwest, and Nationally.  Fire departments and municipalities have made a deliberate effort to prevent injuries and property loss by utilizing the permitting process.  The Oshkosh Fire Department and prior Common Councils found value in implementing a recreational burning permit to promote education and provide an enforcement component with the intent to prevent future emergency responses. While some residents of the City of Oshkosh and many non-residents may not see the value and purpose of recreational permits, those who share the opposite concerns should not be disregarded.  The permitting process was put in place at the recommendation of the department’s Fire Marshall after he researched solutions to address the numerous complaint calls to our non-emergency number and 911 from neighbors who had legitimate concerns about recreational fires that are too close to buildings, hours of burning, and materials being burned.  Before the permitting process was implemented, these complaints also were an opportunity to insert the fire department into disputes between neighbors.  Preventive efforts in any application are difficult to quantify and qualify.  There is a challenge in attempting to measure something that has not happened.  However, over the past four years, the department has seen a very steady rise in its overall number of incident responses.  An incident type that has remained static and has not demonstrated the same rate of rise is unauthorized burning which is how these responses are classified by the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).  I would view that as an indication that the permitting process has had positive results and has shown a benefit.  While the fee may be viewed by some as extraneous and unnecessary, it is also routinely associated with the burning permit process in other municipalities.  Risk reduction occurs through a commitment of staff and resources.  The fee can offset that expense.  It is also applied to those that are creating the risk.

FISCAL IMPACT

Tragically, in the last several days the Oshkosh Fire Department responded to an incident in a neighboring municipality where gasoline was thrown on a recreational fire. That municipality does not have a recreational burn permitting process. The two victims received 2nd and 3rd-degree burns over large portions of their bodies.  It cannot be said with absolute certainty that a burn permit would have prevented this tragedy.  However, preventing these types of incidents and injuries is precisely the intent of why the permitting process was implemented.  The cumulative sum of $15,000.00 yearly is paltry in comparison to the cost of the medical bills that will be amassed by these burn victims who will likely require lengthy medical care that could include skin grafts.  That cost does not account for the pain and suffering of the victims and their families either.

RECOMMENDATION

My recommendation as the Fire Chief is that the current permitting process not be altered.  I would caution against reversing a practice that was put in place to reduce risk.  By doing so the department would suffer a reduction in its ability to educate and would lose an important component of enforcement.

Attachments ORD 24-466 amend outdoor burning ordinance13-7 clean amend outdoor burning ordinance13-7 redline

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