Health Department
John Adams – Acting Health Officer
603-353-9201
jqadams@orfordnh.us
Fire Department
Terry Straight – Fire Chief
Jim Hook – Fire Warden
IT’S THE LAW – FIRE PERMITS REQUIRED
WHO: Only a property owner or person who has written permission to kindle a fire may obtain a fire permit. That person must be 18 years of age or older.
WHAT: You may burn clean, ordinary combustibles, includes wood, leaves and brush less than 5 inches in diameter, campfire wood, charcoal (on the ground), A gas grill or charcoal fire in a container up and off the ground, kindled by the landowner or occupant with the landowner’s permission, does not require a written fire permit.
WHEN: A category I fire may be kindled with a permit at any time whether raining or not. A category II and category III fire may only be kindled with a permit between the hours of 5:00 pm and 9:00 am unless it is actually raining. If it stops raining the fire must be extinguished and you will need to wait until after 5:00 pm to kindle it again. There must be someone with the fire at all times until the fire is extinguished; means to extinguish so that it emits no flames, smoke, or heat. Remember, a buried fire is NOT an extinguished fire.
WHERE: A category I fire must be at least 25’ from structures and category II or greater fire must be at least 50’ from structures.
Permission – No person shall kindle a fire upon the land of another without written permission from the owner, agent or caretaker thereof.
Category I Fire – a small controlled fire, such as a camp or cooking fire, no greater than 2’ in diameter contained within a ring of fire resistive material or in a portable fireplace. A category I fire, conditions permitting, may be kindled with a permit at any time of day whether raining or not.
Category II Fire – a controlled fire, such as a camp or cooking fire, no greater than 4’ in diameter contained within a ring of fire resistive material or in a portable fireplace. A category II fire, conditions permitting, may only be kindled with a permit between the hours of 5:00 pm and 9:00 am unless it is actually raining.
Category III Fire – any other fire, not a category I or category II fire or a fire greater than 4’ in diameter or a fire not contained within a ring of resistive material. A category III fire, conditions permitting, may only be kindled with a permit between the hours of 5:00 pm and 9:00 am unless it is actually raining.
Category I or Category II Fires – When written permission has been obtained from the landowner, and a written permit from the Forest Fire Warden, or his agent, category I or category II fires may be kindled in fireplaces, at suitable times and in suitable places where they will not endanger woodlands.
Category I and II fires must be kindled in an approved device or enclosed by a fire ring. Upon failure to totally extinguish such fires, the parties responsible are subject to the same liabilities and penalties as are prescribed for other fires.
Fire Department Contact & Hours
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Email: firechief@orfordnh.us
Fire Chief #603-728-7569
Call 9-1-1 for emergencies
FIRE PERMITS – please contact the Fire Warden or Deputies listed below
Fire Warden Jim Hook #603-353-4834
Deputies:
Chief Terry Straight #603-728-7569
Jimmy Carter #603-353-9975
John Dunham #603-276-0213
Fire Permits – No person, firm, or corporation shall kindle or cause to be kindled any fire or shall burn or cause to be burned any material, and no city or town shall kindle or maintain a fire on a public dump, except when the ground is covered with snow, without first obtaining a written permit from the forest fire warden of the town where the burning is to be done unless it is in the presence of the warden or the warden’s agent. The State Forester may make and adopt such reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary to give effect to the provision, and he shall prepare all state permits issued by Forest Fire Wardens, or his agent.
Liability – Any person, firm or corporation causing or kindling a fire without a permit, when a permit is required, and also any person by whose negligence or the negligence of his agents any fire shall be caused, is liable to the town for all expenses incurred in attending or extinguishing such fire. Every person who shall set fire on any land that shall run upon the land of another, shall pay to the owner all damages done by such fire.
Penalty – For kindling a fire in woodlands of another without written permission of the owner, or for kindling any fire without a written permit when a permit is required, a person may be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined up to $2,000.00, and/or imprisoned for a period of up to 1 year.