1/27/13 -
With the warmer weather this winter - many people are getting out and doing yard work, and often accompanying that- is burning the debris...but not always legally.
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Lady's Island-S. Helena firefighters have had their hands full......
"We've had an odd number, a large number of calls for assistance with folks that might possibly be illegally burning. most often the case is there's smoke in their neighborhood and folks are concerned, certainly they should be," said firefighter Lee Levesque.
That's why they want to remind everyone that there are burn ordinances in Beaufort County especially with the weather getting nice and more people clearing out their lawns which is allowed under the ordinance.
"Folks are doing those yard work tasks and in the process, burning those leaves, and that's understandable, we get that, but we want to make sure folks are doing that safely."
Officials say the ordinance is pretty straight-forward-- burning of lawn debris is allowed only between 9am and 3pm as well as keeping a safe distance from buildings.
"We ask that you don't burn within 75 feet of a structure, property line, or fence, or anything of that nature, unfortunately we've seen homes catch fire and burn to the ground, displacing families, and certainly lost all of those personal belongings, and it wasn't the person that was burning, it was their neighbors."
Officials urge you to find out what the burn rules are in your area and make sure you follow them in order to keep everyone safe.
