Backyard fire restrictions fuel interest in online petition

Saskatoon city council's new restriction on backyard fires may have been an unpopular decision.

As of Wednesday afternoon, nearly 6,000 people had signed a petition against the new bylaw, passed by city council on Monday, which only allows backyard fires from 5-11 p.m.

Saskatoon resident Heather Hickey started the petition back in May, when the issue was first put to council, but it only gained popularity this week after council's decision.

She was concerned, she told CBC News, about councils making blanket bylaws that "wreck things for everyone." She would have preferred to see the city respond to issues on a case-by-case basis, she said.

Hickey said her family has fires almost every night during the summer and sometimes when the weather is mild in the winter. It's also common for them to sit at the fire past 11 p.m., she said.

"It's our favourite thing we like to do in the summer," she said. "[During the winter] we go tobogganing then we come to our backyard and warm up by a fire."

No problems with neighbours

Hickey's neighbours also have fire pits, and she said there have never been any complaints from them about her fires. "I would hope if they did have a problem that they would just poke their head over the fence."

I don't think it really satisfies either side.- Heather Hickey, Saskatoon resident

She said she understands the decision is already made but she wants city council to know there are people unhappy with the change.

"Mostly [the petition is] just to express dissatisfaction with the decision that was made," she said. "I don't think it really satisfies either side."

Addressing health concerns

The debate over backyard fires began when the mother of a boy with asthma raised concerns about the effects of second-hand smoke from wood-burning fires.

In May, the Saskatoon Fire Department submitted a report to council that said while wood-burning firepits on private property are not a safety problem, they do carry health risks for some people.

The fire department said it received 38 written requests in 2016 to consider some kind of restriction on firepits due to health concerns.