One year since the City of Saskatoon passed a bylaw restricting backyard fire-pit use between 2 p.m. and 11 p.m., Saskatoon Fire Department has seen a slight drop in the number of complaints.
“Overall, the past year has gone as expected with the rate of complaints dropping off slightly,” said Saskatoon Fire Chief Morgan Hackl. “Because of the increased enforcement we have had a reduction in the number of repeated complaints to the same locations.”
A city report about the progress of the open-air fire pit bylaw is heading in front of city councilors next week, detailing the change in the number of complaints and infractions since the city introduced the bylaw in April 2018.
The city says it received 205 complaints in 2016, 236 complaints in 2017 and 215 complaints in the first year of the bylaw.
During the first year of the bylaw the city reported 127 enforcement actions were taken including 93 tickets written for people violating the burning time restrictions.
Hackl said most complaints were driven by improper burning units like burn barrels or homemade fire pits with no metal screen covering.
Of the 93 tickets written, few were second offences.
Hackle said he doesn’t recommend any amendments or changes to the bylaw.
The city says when it measured the number of complaints that fell outside of the hours of 2 p.m. and 11 p.m., it saw a significant decline with just 24 complaints in 2018 compared to 82 complaints in 2017.
The city’s standing policy committee on planning, development and community services will consider the report on May 13.
