Tips and warnings about safe summer fires

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Temperatures are fiery, but your yards shouldn’t be.

Interim Fire Chief, Doug Hobson, said brush fires are not allowed in the city of Zanesville, only cooking fires with seasoned firewood are permitted. He explained there have been too many illegal fires burning in the past few weeks.

Hobson said, “We just want you to remain safe, think about what you’re doing keeping a hose, even if you’re having a cooking fire, keeping a hose on standby, just remember that everything is dry right now.”

People want to clean their yards but in the summer months, wood and grass is so dry and it will spread quickly and cause issues especially for neighbors, so Hobson wants to warn the community to be smart about fires and learn about other ways to dispose of extra wood.

“Common sense is the biggest thing, knowing the conditions out there, on a high windy day and you don’t want to burn even if you are burning have some sort of a water source there and extinguishing agent just to be able to put that fire out,” said Hobson.

Hobson also explained that with summer grilling, it is important to make sure propane tanks are up-to-date and to keep the grills a good distance from the house.

Story written by: Madelyne Watkins