Complaint ID 104425 — Public Copy

I spoke to caller and explained that I had been out of the office. I told her that the fire department would be best person to contact if they were burning after hours. She thanked me for my phone call. No further action is required.

I contacted Paulding County Fire Chief - Joey Pelroff and Chris Kendrick with the Fire Department. They had been to the site a few times. They discussed the open burning regulations to the homeowner. Also, they discussed the fines associated with violating the regulations. They believe that this issue has been resolved.

I received an email from Valeria Lopez, Mountain District Office - Atlanta that I needed to contact Ms. Selina Slight. She was upset that I hadn't follow-up with her as indicated in our previous conversation.

I contacted the complainant and explained the answers to her burning concerns. I did inform her that I would try to get our investigator and GA forestry to go to the property where the burning was occurring to discuss the rules.

An email was sent to epd IT. It contained the following: I am writing to obtain clarification on the enforcement of Georgia’s Open Burn Rules. If you can help, great. If not, please forward this email to someone who can. On the morning of June 18 2023, I noticed black debris and ashes all over my front driveway, my side parking pad, my front and backyards, and in my flower pots. It was coming from my neighbor’s backyard burn pit. He had cut down a large tree in the front of his home and was burning it in his pit. The smoke from the fire was as high as the trees in the wooded area behind our homes – perhaps 30 to 40+ feet. I advised the neighbor and his father that their embers and ashes were all over my property. I was concerned about a potential fire if embers and ashes were travelling that far. My neighbor usually burns throughout the year including summer months, and this was the first time that I ever noticed fire debris on our property. Later that morning, I stepped onto our deck and saw more black debris and ashes on our roof, our canvas sun shade, our deck, our outdoor rug, our furniture, and even in our vertical garden. I made multiple calls to the Paulding non-emergency line to see how I could mitigate the situation. When the fire continued to rage and debris continued to land on our property, I made a final call and accepted the offer to have Paulding County Fire meet with me to perform a safety check. I have an elderly disabled mother in my care, so I was extremely worried about the risk of fire. Two Paulding County firemen arrived and first spoke to the neighbor. They then met with me and advised me that there is a burn ban in place and that the neighbor would be wrapping it up. I asked about the threat of fire to our home and what preventive measures could I take. They advised that embers on the roof would not spark a fire but did advise me that hot ashes and debris landing on any fabric or canvas surface could create pinhole burns. I was advised to water down our awnings and deck as a protective measure. I need to know which agency is responsible for enforcing Georgia Open Burn Rules. It is my understanding that in-ground burn pits are to be at least 50 feet from any structure including homes and fences and 25 feet from trees/wooded areas. My neighbor’s burn pit is significantly less than 50 feet from my wooden privacy fence, and I need to know what agency is responsible for advising him that he needs to move it. I had no idea that Georgia had a burn ban in place because people in Paulding County burn all year round even during the hottest months of the year. Please contact me at REDACTED so that I may better understand how these rules are enforced and what agency is responsible for enforcing them. I don’t think it is my responsibility to enforce Georgia’s Open Burn Rules by telling my neighbor that he needs to move his burn pit. I want him to be able to safely resume his burning activities in peace, and I want to be free from worrying about his embers, ashes, and other fire debris landing on our property. It is definitely not a sustainable practice to hose down my property to avoid fire risk because my neighbor is not in compliance with Georgia's Open Burn Rules. Thank you.