Chimeneas ok in Somerville?

[inahandbasket]

I'd like to put a Chimenea in our back yard this year for toasty evening chill-out sessions in the spring and fall, but it occurs to me that the city may frown upon it...

Has anyone looked into Somerville's stance on backyard contained fire thingies?
I feel like if you're allowed to grill you should be allowed to have an outdoor fireplace, but I could be wrong.

*edit*
Answer is apparently "no outdoor burning except grilling."

Comments

[jamesnorton.livejournal.com]

give inspectional services a call - they should be able to tell you very quickly whether its ok or not. off the top of my head, i think as long as they arent connected to a fuel source they should be fine, but who knows these days...good luck

jn

[inahandbasket]

hunh, actually contacting the city department in charge... novel concept.

One gets so used to the lazy-web that one forgets about the most obvious way to do things sometimes.
If no one here knows I'll give 'em a call on my lunch break.

[mderidder.livejournal.com]

Our neighbor has one in their backyard. Not that this implies legality.

I would imagine they are OK as long as they follow rules similar to grills (not on porches, kept a certain distance away from structures, a clear area above, etc.)

However, looks like this FAQ from the city's 311 page contradicts what I said above.

http://faqs.somervillema.intelligovsoftware.com/fdq5.aspx

[inahandbasket]

Gah. Good find, thanks for the link.
Perhaps if I ensure that marshmallows are being toasted at all times... ^_^

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

That was exactly my suggestion, have a sack of marshmallows and a couple of sticks sitting right by it at all times its in use, and you should be good.

[philbot.livejournal.com]

I looked it up once and the city website said no to anything other than backyard grills. No tiki torches, etc.

[inahandbasket]

yeah, appears to be the case. thanks. *sigh*

[geekpixie.livejournal.com]

There are at least two in our neighborhood, don't lose hope! :)

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

Thats interesting. There is a house near mine that has tiki torches lit all summer long for their backyard parties.

[philbot.livejournal.com]

Breakin' the law, breakin' the law....

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

A lot of people I know in the city use them.

[countlibras.livejournal.com]

too bad, that would have been cool.

[inahandbasket]

looks like it might be a bit of a "look the other way" thing as more people respond here...

Breakin' the law

[artguychris.livejournal.com]

We've had one for almost 10 years and have never had any problems with the fire dept. Assuming you use it sensibly and don't start a fire, I think the limiting factor is if your neighbors would call the fire dept or cops on you.

Last summer someone called the fire dept reporting an "odor of smoke" in our neighborhood. (It was not our chiminea.) A bunch of firefighters wandered through surrounding yards looking for a smoldering fire. They made an offhand comment to my wife about how the chiminea was illegal, but that was it.

Re: Breakin' the law

[inahandbasket]

Hmm, good to know. Thanks for the infos!

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

According to a friend on the Fire Department, you are technically only allowed to have a fire on your property if it's for the purposes of cooking. So gas grills, barbecues, etc., are ok. I have a fire pit in my yard and have used it a few times, noone complained. You're probably taking your chances.....if you have neighbors who don't like the smoke it will generate and complain, you could have a problem. Chimeneas might be a little bit better than fire pits, because they have small openings and might be a little less smoky. But if it's windy.......