Can I burn today in St. Catharines?

Permit required for Agricultural Fires only

No person shall set or maintain an Agricultural Fire unless a Permit has been issued by St. Catharines Fire and Emergency Services.

General restriction — all Open Air Fires need a permit unless exempt

No person shall set or maintain an Open Air Fire, or cause an Open Air Fire to be set or maintained, or to have an Open Air Fire on their land, with or without their consent, except in accordance with a Permit issued pursuant to Section 5 this by-law and except as exempt pursuant to Section 6 of this by-law.

Agricultural Fire permit conditions — hours, wind, setback, size, smog day

Except as otherwise provided for in the Permit issued pursuant to Section 5.1 of this by-law, a Permit holder shall not set or maintain, or cause an Agricultural Fire to be set or maintained, or have an Agricultural Fire on their land, with or without their consent: (i) between sunset and sunrise...; (ii) when the wind velocity is greater than 24 km per hour as recorded at the Niagara District Airport; (iii) at a distance of less than 30 metres from any building, structure, property line, fence, roadway, overhead wires, or other combustible materials or items; ... (v) which exceeds a maximum of 10 metres in diameter and 5 metres in height; ... (vii) on any days considered to be a "smog" or "save the air" day by the Health Department of The Regional Municipality of Niagara or by the Province of Ontario for the Region of Niagara; (viii) unless the Agricultural Fire is supervised at all times by a responsible person over 18 years of age who is equipped with a cell phone or similar device capable of contacting 9-1-1.

Application and fee

Each completed application for a Permit must be submitted to St. Catharines Fire and Emergency Services and shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee as set out in the Rates and Fees By-law for the City of St. Catharines, in effect at the time of the application.

Cooking Fire exemption — no permit needed

A person or persons may, without a Permit to do so, set or cause to be set and maintained a Cooking Fire located in a device other than a barbecue, for personal use between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. provided that: (i) the Cooking Fire area is not more than .75 metres x .75 metres in size and not more than .3 metres in height; ... (iii) the Cooking Fire is located not less than 3 metres horizontally from any structure, overhang or balcony, property line, tree, fence, roadway, overhead wires or other combustible material...