**** DNR Release In case of wildfire Careless brush burning has been the cause of many wildfires. There are other alternatives to burning such as chipping and mulching. If you must burn brush do it safely.

	Remove all vegetation within 3 m of your firepit.
	Firepit is located well away from structures and vegetation.
	Make sure there is little or no wind that can blow sparks or ash towards structures or vegetation.
	Use a barrel to burn small brush . Make sure it is good condition and at least 3 m away from vegetation. Use steel rods or pipes to hold the burning material up from the bottom of the barrel. Ensure a metal mesh screen (with openings no larger than 5mm) has been placed over the barrel opening.
	Keep fire fighting tools on hand; ( a charged garden hose, shovel, rake, buckets)
	Soak ashes well and let sit in a metal container for at least 24 hours before disposing them in a pit.

Abridged from: "It Could Happen to you!- How to Protect your Home." Courtesy of the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Commission. and "FireSmart Protecting your Community from Wildfire". Alberta Land and Forest Service. In a major disaster, fire protection agencies may not have enough equipment and personnel to be at every home. Taking all proper precautions before a wildfire will be your best defense against it. If a wildfire is threatning your home:

Call the fire department or 9-1-1
Close windows and doors to the house and close all inside doors.
Take down light drapes and move furniture away from windows and shut every curtain.
Move all combustible materials (lawn furniture, firewood) away from your house.
Place water in containers to fight the fire.
Place a ladder against the front of the house.
Turn off gas at the meter or propane tank.
Turn on porch and other outside lights.
Pack essentials and valuables into your car in case you have to leave in a rush.
Back car into garage and close garage door. Leave keys in the ignition.
If you have a combustible roof, wet it down with the garden hose or by putting lawn sprinklers on the roof.
Evacuate family and pets to a safe location. After you have done everything on your checklist and the fire is close, it is time to evacuate.

Abridged from: "It Could Happen to you!- How to Protect your Home." Courtesy of the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Commission. and "FireSmart Protecting your Community from Wildfire". Alberta Land and Forest Service. If you would like more information on how you can reduce the risk of losing your home to wildfire. You can reach us by email or by mail at: The Forest Protection Division Fire Management Group NS Dept of Natural Resources PO Box 130 Shubenacadie East Nova Scotia, Canada. B0N 2H0 . **** HRM Media Release

HRM Burning Rules and Regulations

It is important to protect your home and community. Check out our prevention page for some helpful tips or follow this link for multi-language material.

Domestic Burning in a Permit Required Zone

If your property is serviced with both municipal water AND sewer, then you are in what’s described as a Permit Required Zone. Most of the urban/suburban lots in the municipality are located in a Permit Required Zone.

Permit Required Zone - Summer (March 15th – October 15th)

Burning types below are limited by the time of day. Time of day allowed in this category is 2 p.m. to midnight. The time of day may be further restricted by provincial or municipal bans and you must check for bans every time before you burn. They are posted 2 p.m. every day. Please see "Provincial / Municipal Bans" below to learn about bans. Domestic Burning (brush and tree limbs) is prohibited Domestic Waste Burning is prohibited and includes:

leaf and yard waste including grass and grass clippings, twigs, and house and garden plants;
box board including cereal, shoe, tissue and detergent boxes; and
construction or demolition material, including saw dust, wood shavings, planking, siding, wood beams, plastic and rubber.

Campfire Burning (0.5 metre diameter open fire) is prohibited except in public or private campgrounds. Outdoor wood burning appliances are allowed without a permit if they meet the criteria in the By-law. Burning in propane or natural gas CSA or ULC approved appliance: These devices are not regulated under this By-law however all manufactures instructions must be followed. They are not subject to time restrictions.

Permit Required Zone - Winter (October 16th – March 14th)

All burning types below are limited by the time of day. Time of day allowed in this category is 8 a.m. to midnight. Domestic Burning (brush and tree limbs) allowed ONLY if :

the fire is 23 metres (75 feet) away from any dwelling or accessory building;
a person in charge of burning has a means to call 911 from site;
at least two people nineteen (19) years of age or older are present;
suitable equipment is in attendance to contain and extinguish the fire;
wind velocity will not jeopardize the ability to control and contain the fire;
a municipal burn permitis filled out and on site during burning; and
the person in charge ensures all smouldering embers are completely extinguished prior to leaving the site

If you are in this category, note that achieving the setback distance is unlikely. Domestic Waste Burning is prohibited and includes:

leaf and yard waste including grass and grass clippings, twigs, and house and garden plants;
box board including cereal, shoe, tissue and detergent boxes; and
construction or demolition material, including saw dust, wood shavings, planking, siding, wood beams, plastic and rubber.

Burning in propane or natural gas CSA or ULC approved appliance: These devices are not regulated under this By-law however all manufactures instructions must be followed. They are not subject to time restrictions.

Domestic Burning in a No Permit Required Zone

If your property is not serviced with both municipal water AND sewer, then you are in what is described as a No Permit Required Zone. Most of the rural lots in the municipality are located in a No Permit Required Zone. In addition to the criteria above, the following communities are defined as No Permit Required Zones:

Bayside	Hubbards	Prospect
Beaver Bank/Kinsac	Hubley	Prospect Bay
Big Lake	Indian Harbour	Queensland
Black Point	Ingramport	Seabright
Blind Bay	Lewis Lake	Shad Bay
Boutiliers Point	Lower Prospect	Sheet Harbour
Brookside	Lower Tantallon	Tangier
Cooks Brook	McGrath's Cove	Terence Bay
Dutch Settlement	Meagher's Grant	Three Harbours/Port Dufferin
East Dover	Middle Musquodoboit	Upper Musquodoboit
French Village	Mooseland	Upper Tantallon
Glen Haven	Moser River	West Dover
Glen Margaret	Mushaboom	White's Lake
Goodwood	Musquodoboit Harbour
Hacketts Cove	Ostrea Lake
Hatchet Lake	Oyster Pond
Head of St. Margaret's Bay	Peggy's Cove

No Permit Required Zone - Summer (March 15th – October 15th)

All burning types below are limited by the time of day. Time of day allowed in this category is 2 p.m. to midnight. The time of day may be further restricted by provincial / municipal bansand you must check for bans every time before you burn. They are posted daily at 2 p.m.

Domestic Burning (brush and tree limbs) allowed ONLY if :

the fire is 23 metres (75 feet) away from any dwelling or accessory building;
a person in charge of burning has a means to call 911 from site;
at least two people nineteen (19) years of age or older are present;
suitable equipment is in attendance to contain and extinguish the fire;
wind velocity will not jeopardize the ability to control and contain the fire; and
the person in charge ensures all smouldering embers are completely extinguished prior to leaving the site

Domestic Waste Burning is Prohibited and includes:

leaf and yard waste including grass and grass clippings, twigs, and house and garden plants;
box board including cereal, shoe, tissue and detergent boxes; and
construction or demolition material, including saw dust, wood shavings, planking, siding, wood beams, plastic and rubber

Campfire burning (0.5 metre diameter open fire) is allowed ONLY if the fire is 4.75 metres (15 feet) away from any dwelling or accessory building. The campfire must be contained using non-combustible material and you must burn dry seasoned firewood. Only one campfire is permitted per property. Campfire burning is also permitted in public and private campgrounds. Outdoor wood burning appliances are allowed if they meet the criteria in the By-law. Burning in propane or natural gas CSA or ULC approved appliance: These devices are not regulated under this By-law however all manufactures instructions must be followed. They are not subject to time restrictions.

No Permit Required Zone - Winter (October 16th – March 14th)

All burning types below are limited by the time of day. Time of day allowed in this category is 8 a.m. to midnight. Domestic Burning (brush and tree limbs) allowed ONLY if :

the fire is 23 metres (75 feet) away from any dwelling or accessory building;
a person in charge of burning has a means to call 911 from site;
at least two people nineteen (19) years of age or older are present;
suitable equipment is in attendance to contain and extinguish the fire;
wind velocity will not jeopardize the ability to control and contain the fire; and
the person in charge ensures all smouldering embers are completely extinguished prior to leaving the site

Domestic Waste Burning is prohibited and includes:

leaf and yard waste including grass and grass clippings, twigs, and house and garden plants;
box board including cereal, shoe, tissue and detergent boxes; and
construction or demolition material, including saw dust, wood shavings, planking, siding, wood beams, plastic and rubber.

Outdoor wood burning appliancesare allowed if they meet the criteria in the By-law.

Provincial / Municipal Bans

The provincial burning restriction website is updated daily at 2 p.m. At that time the Department of Natural Resources will confirm by way of a colour on the map the hours in which you are allowed to burn on that day:

Green = open air wood burning is allowed, beginning at 2 p.m.
Yellow = open air wood burning is allowed, beginning at 7 p.m.
Red = open air wood burning is not allowed at any time

In the majority of cases, Halifax Fire and Emergency (HRFE) will mirror the level of restriction on open-air wood burning declared by the province. HRFE also has the ability to be more stringent than the province if it is warranted. If the fire service declares a higher level of restriction than the province, the public will be informed via a public service announcement (which can be found in the Media Room, on the Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency website and through social media updates on the HRFE Twitter feed (@hfxfire).

Outdoor wood burning appliances

The following criteria must be met for a device to be considered an '