BY ANDY GARDNER

North Country This Week

MASSENA -- The village board on Tuesday night passed a new law that allows contained outdoor recreational burning.

The law restricts burning to within a barbecue grill, barbecue pit or outdoor fireplace no wider than three feet and no taller than two feet. It has to have a "spark-arresting lid or screen and a lid" or smoke "passes through a stack or chimney from an enclosed chamber"

The law also requires the fire be constantly attended with a nearby means to extinguish it and has to be 15 feet away from buildings, driveways and property lines.. The only allowable fuel is seasoned wood. Cooking fires can still be fueled with natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, charcoal or briquettes.

There is an exemption that says the fire can't cause a hazard or bother neighbors with smoke or smell.

The law passed with the support of the Massena Fire Department and mixed reactions from residents who spoke up.

Pat O'Brien, a first assistant Massena fire chief, said most of the calls they take to extinguish a recreational fire aren't worth their time and effort.

"We're being told we need to come immediately ... we're responding with a half-million dollar plus apparatus and making 15 firefighters come out of their homes ... to go to a fire where we can't even find it," he said.

Firefighters are also getting threatened when responding to recreational fire complaints. They keep records of "names and addresses where our volunteers are being physically threatened and we have to have the police come with us."

"We're putting these people in situations, we had one guy telling us last year he's going to prison anyways, he's waiting to report and he's got nothing to lose," O'Brien said.

Massena resident Ruth Elmer spoke for several minutes and said she thinks the new law will bother people with breathing issues.

"People with breathing problems will be coughing and gasping for air," she said. "The article in the paper stated some people are already having fires ... instead of a reprimand and a fine ... when did you start rewarding lawbreakers?"

Village resident Weldon Peterson supported the idea. He said he had a neighbor in the past call the authorities when he would have backyard fires because of an ongoing dispute.

"Because some neighbors were irritated, my rights as a citizen and a taxpayer were infringed," he said. "If a neighbor doesn't like it, their tough business. I'm keeping it controlled, coordinated."

Village resident Stan Fiacco said he has people who live near him who constantly have outdoor fires and the smoke bothers him.

"It drifts down to our house and my wife has a lot of physical problems. It's very upsetting I can't get him to stop the fires," Fiacco said.

"As long as people follow the rules, I think this is good," village resident Mark Brower said. "Winds over 20 mph or something, they probably shouldn't have an open fire."

Mayor Tim Currier noted that the village can't overstep a state or county burn ban.

"Currently New York state is under a burn ban, so we don't have the authority to supercede that ... or the county," the mayor said.

Lebire said he believes that if smoke from a fire is bothering neighbors, then the burn probably violates the new code.

"If the smoke from a fire is carrying that far into that house, my gut says something is not being followed," he said.