Complaint ID 109287 — Public Copy

Status: Approved/Closed

Nature of Complaint

I am, for the fourth time, reporting my neighbor, Dylan Michael Rediger, for illegal/unlawful burning on Sunday, June 16, 2024. Mr. Rediger is the homeowner and a resident of 138 Bent Creek Drive, Dallas, GA 30157. As your records indicate, Mr. Rediger was documented unlawfully burning on the following dates: June 18, 2023, July 11, 2023, and August 13, 2023. At 8:48P on June 16, 2024, I placed a 911 call because Mr. Rediger was illegally burning in his backyard fire pit. To be sure, it was upon the advice from Georgia EPD’s Bob Tatum to keep calling 911 when Mr. Rediger is illegally burning. To my understanding, advice to call 911 and courtesy letters to violators of State Law comprise the extent of EPD enforcement. There was heavy, thick white smoke travelling from Mr. Rediger’s fire pit all the way onto our property, and I took multiple photos and video. Because the 911 operator had told me to call back if anything changes, I made a second call to 911 to report that I saw Mr. Rediger add some brush to the fire pit and pour a liquid from a black container to re-ignite the fire. Mr. Rediger’s fire pit was unattended, and there was no water hose near the fire. In fact, when firefighters arrived, Mr. Rediger had to pull his hose from the side of his home and walked back to his fire pit with the firefighter. Firefighters provided Mr. Rediger with what is now a fourth copy of the burn ban notice, and I don’t know if Mr. Rediger was required to completely extinguish the fire. It was still burning at 10:39P when I took our dog out. Additionally, there was very bright flickering coming from Mr. Rediger’s fire pit area around 3:51A this morning. I voiced my frustration to one firefighter that Mr. Rediger continues to unlawfully burn after receiving three prior visits from firefighters in 2023, being provided with three prior burn ban notices in 2023, speaking with Chris Kendrick (Paulding County Senior Fire Investigator) on two separate occasions in 2023, receiving a courtesy notice from the EPD in 2023, and receiving a courtesy notice from the Paulding County Marshal’s Office in 2023. I further expressed concern about the harmful effects of smoke particulate matter, especially for my 79 year-old mother who is among at-risk populations due to heart issues. The firefighter informed me that the Chief will be out here tomorrow. I am actively trying to advocate and submit a petition of signatures to Governor Brian Kemp and State Legislators because Georgia needs much stronger enforcement of burn ban laws. Due to lack of enforcement, Georgia provides no protections from smoke particulate matter for at-risk populations that include the elderly with heart and lung illnesses, pregnant women and infants, and individuals with asthma, emphysema, COPD, and heart disease. Compromised air quality is a serious environmental concern, and something must be done to correct this. Nothing will change without public demand. Because I assume letters to violators of Georgia’s Burn Ban Law are public knowledge, please tell me how to obtain a copy of EPD’s 2023 courtesy notice to Mr. Rediger. I did not attach photos or video of the smoke from yesterday’s burn event with this complaint because neither the County nor State was interested in viewing video from last year when Mr. Rediger was seen carrying a container to and from an illegal burn event and re-igniting the fire. However, if the EPD would like to view photos and videos, I will gladly provide them. I remain greatly disappointed that no one from the County or State cared to even view the video, called me to discuss concerns about Mr. Rediger’s possible use of accelerants, or even came out to sample the soil at the burn site. I don't think there is a fire expert in the United States that would look at that same video and walk away feeling that no further follow-up is necessary. If the County and State were not interested in viewing video from that event, it is likely that photos and videos from yesterday would also serve no interest to enforcement agencies. I’m very clear that nothing will result from filing these complaints, but it is extremely important to keep documenting these incidents with the County and State. Something is very unsettling about the County and State being powerless to stop Mr. Rediger from illegally burning. I did call the EPD this afternoon to see how to file an online complaint. However, I was offered a telephone number to contact Mr. Tatum. I already have Mr. Tatum’s phone number and email and provided notice to him earlier today. Mr. Tatum's advice in 2023 was to keep calling 911 for illegal burning events.

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File	Size	Date Uploaded
Rediger.burn.ltr.paulding2023.pdf	33.6 KB	21‑Jun‑2024