Dexter fire chief offers tips on leaf-burning

A time for falling leaves. And a time for raking them up and burning them.

But a near-disaster on Tuesday afternoon strongly suggests a bit of caution and care will save a lot of trouble and expense later -- and possibly some lives.

A pile of raked-up leaves on West Grant Street was burning close enough to a house to have started that house on fire. Thanks, however, to the prompt intervention by the Dexter Fire Department, the house suffered little fire damage.

Dexter Fire chief Al Banken noted the is no legal restriction against the burning of leaves. "We don't have any codes governing the burning of leaves," he said after the fire was out. "But it's not a very good idea to burn them so close to your house."

Banken added the general hazard of burning leaves close to any structure will increase given the right weather conditions, as was the case Tuesday afternoon. "If you have leaves close to a building and it's windy you're just asking for trouble if you burn the leaves," he said.

So what to do, if you don't want to bag up the leaves and haul them off -- and don't want to leave them on your lawn, sidewalk and driveway, either? According to information from several webpages, the following precautions appear to be among the most prudent:

* There should be a fire break, free of flammable materials at least 10 feet wide completely around the material to be burned. "Now, it may not be practical to have a firebreak like that in some of these small yards," Banken noted. "b ut it would be good to rake the leaves away from buildings, and away from a neighbor's yard, so it doesn't jump over -- and it may jump over anyway, if it's going to be windy."

* Have a cleared area at least 30-feet wide around all structures before you start burning.

* Keep leaves and debris cleared from under decks and porches so they will not be set on fire by blowing sparks and embers.

* Do not burn during windy or dry conditions. "It just is not good to burn on a windy day," Banken said.

* Have water and hand tools ready in case fire escapes

* Stay with the fire until it is out. "You should never leave a fire unattended," Banken said.

* Do not burn within 200 feet of any woodland, brushland or field containing dry grass

* Consider alternatives to burning; composting can yield valuable organic matter

that can be used to enrich the soil. "I never burn," Banken said. "I mulch all mine with a mulching lawnmower."

gexelby@dailystatesman.com