Sick of the raging fire pit debate? So are some city councillors. Here's how we got here

There's no telling what will happen Monday afternoon when fire pits go back on the grill at city hall.

"I never know what is going to happen with this issue," said councillor Bev Dubois on Friday.

But some city councillors are growing weary of the hot potato issue, one that's generated three separate online petitions and even threats against councillors.

"I can't speak for my colleagues but I don't want to see any more delays," Randy Donauer said recently.

"I don't want to prolong this debate," echoed Ann Iwanchuk when fire pits were last discussed at city hall.

A tangled agenda

Monday's fire pit item — scheduled to trail a poetry reading — is a thick and tangled wood pile, with the potential for even more delays, however.

A split council already narrowly voted through the idea of a 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. burning window last December.

But on Monday, councillors need to actually vote on putting that window into law.

• What people in Mayfair, Saskatoon's fire pit complaint hot zone, think of a registry and curfew

Whether that actually happens remains to be seen.

More than one councillor has emphasized the need to reach out to the public before any big decisions are made. That public consultation hasn't even happened yet.

"I can't remember a time when we looked at doing something that impacts our citizens and what they do on their private property without consulting them first," said Darren Hill, one of the curfew's most outspoken dousers.

"We wouldn't rezone a property without community engagement," said Zach Jeffries, who began an online petition asking for tougher enforcement of the fire pit bylaw instead of a curfew.

• If the fire pit bylaw isn't enforced, does it make a sound? No, says Randy Donauer

'Have fun job hunting next election'

Dubois has said that if that consultation happens, it should be online, not in person. 

"Based on what has happened through social media, messages and the threats and abuse that has happened, I would not want us to be doing any public meetings or any meetings public," she said.

Dubois confirmed she received this text from someone hoping her house burns down after she voted in favour of the idea of a burning window:

Monday's meeting will also see the Saskatoon Fire Department talk about the idea of an online registry that would require fire pit users to submit photos of their pits to make sure they pass muster.

Also expected is a long list of speakers who weren't able to take to the podium last month due to the vote on the curfew being delayed.

And then there's a list of demands from Hill, among them a suggestion that people be stripped of their pits after violating the bylaw twice.

The law currently calls for a fire to be extinguished if smoke "causes an unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of another person's property."

How did things get to this point?

Below we provide a brief timeline of the events that led to fire pits being one of the most contentious Saskatoon city hall issues in recent memory.

March 2016: Kaela Tennent, a mother living in Saskatoon's Mayfair neighbourhood, asks city council to consider restrictions, including a complete ban on burning wood in fire pits. She says smoke from her neighbours' properties makes her son sick.

• Mom who sparked fire pit debate calls 6-hour burning window 'a very generous compromise'

The fire department begins a review of the issue and the matter evaporates into the air for more than a year until…

May 2017: The fire department reports back. It concludes that while smoke from fires can pose health risks, complaints about fire pits make up less than one per cent of all incidents that it responds to every year.

• Saskatoon city councillors to debate firepit bylaw

Dubois backs a request for the fire department to look into a fire pit permitting system and the idea of restricting burning during certain hours.

During the ensuing months, letters flood in to city hall.

• Give the kids their afternoon 'wiener roasts' says councillor before Monday vote on evening-only fires

December 2017: A split council narrowly approves limiting the use of fire pits to between 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. — in theory, anyway.

Mayor Charlie Clark, alongside Dubois, Iwanchuk and fellow councillors Sarina Gersher, Hilary Gough and Mairin Loewen, vote in favour; Hill, Jeffries, Donauer, Troy Davies and Cynthia Block vote against it but lose. 

Jeffries launches his petition (since taken down) calling for tougher enforcement, which Hill backs.

• Councillors back new fire pit petition calling for 'better' enforcement of rules, not curfew

February 2018: Dubois publicly acknowledges the threats she's received. Other councillors follow suit.

• Saskatoon city councillors face threats, insults over controversial topics including fire pit restrictions

Councillors are set to vote on putting the burning window into law but decide to delay the vote by a month, in part because the fire department still, after several months, has not weighed in on a permitting system.

Iwanchuk says she wants "a full and complete discussion about this, at one time."

More letters roll in. 

March 26, 2018: The burning window vote is again scheduled for city hall along with a discussion about a potential online registry.​

Monday's discussion is scheduled to happen some time after 1 p.m. Can't make it to city hall? Watch a live feed of city council here.