Quincy firefighters remind of burning regulations, fire safety

QUINCY (WGEM) - Quincy firefighters want to remind residents of the city’s burn ordinance as they have seen a number of residential fires recently.

Quincy firefighters said burning waste in the city of Quincy is illegal and the only material that is allowed to be burned is wood in its natural state, such as split or unsplit wood logs.

Firefighters said construction and dimensional lumber, yard waste, and trash are all illegal to burn in the city of Quincy.

The ordinance prevents residential fires from getting out of control and protects the health of residents from pollution.

Firefighters said one house caught on fire from burning leaves last year and that it can catch other parts of the yard on fire rapidly.

“What people don’t realize with burning is that it can get out of hand quickly, especially on a windy day or when it’s been dry lately,” said Quincy Fire Department Firefighter Bryan Meyer.

“The trash immerse can get into leaves nearby and start a bigger fire, last year we had a house fire that was caused by someone burning leaves. On top of that there’s a health hazard, " Meyer said.

Firefighters said if you do burn wood in its natural state (split or unsplit wood logs), you are required to tend to it at all times, a type of extinguisher must be present, and it needs to be in a fire pit.

Firefighters said the city of Quincy has a contract with Evans Recycling to collect yard waste, and information for collection dates are on the city’s website.

If you have any questions about what you can burn or the ordinance itself, you can contact the local fire department and they’ll be available to answer those questions for you.

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