Burning Permits and By-law

Small fires are permitted in most areas of Highlands East as long as the following rules are followed:

  • There is no daytime burning permitted during the fire season (April 1 to October 31) without a permit. Fires may take place only during the time from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
  • Your fire can be no greater than 0.6 metres (approximately 24 inches) in diameter.
  • Your fire must be setback a minimum of 10 metres from any structure.
  • Only environmentally friendly materials may be burned.
  • The smoke from your fire cannot interfere with your neighbours or a roadway.
  • You must have sufficient tools and water available to put the fire out should the need arise.
  • You must be with your fire at all times.

Please read the Open Air Burning By-law for details. Email us or call 705-448-2981 x428 for more information.

Other fires need permits

All other fires need a permit. Please read the Open Air Burning By-law for details. Email us or call 705-448-2981 x428 for more information.

Apply for a permit online

Our offices remain closed to the public as a COVID-19 safety measure. Follow the steps below to apply for your Open Air Burning Permit:

  1. Review our Open Air Burning By-law to make sure your planned burn is allowed. Email us or call 705-448-2981 x428 if you are not sure about something to do with your planned burn.
  2. Use our online Open Air Burning Application form to submit your application details to us. 
  3. Once you have submitted your application, please pay your $50 application fee online. Your application will not be processed without this fee. Payment of this non-refundable fee does not guarantee that your application will be approved.

Apply Now

Once your application fee has been received, the Fire Chief will contact you to gather additional details and arrange a site inspection. It can take up to seven (7) days to process your application. You will be notified when your permit has been approved.

Fees
Fire Service Fees
ServiceFees
Fire Incident Report/File Search $75 payable upon receipt of the report.
Fire Inspections $75 payable before inspection.
Burning Permit* $50 payable upon receipt of required information.
Responses to Motor Vehicle Accidents Ministry of Transportation Rates applicable at time of call.
(Includes Motor Vehicle Fires, Motorized Snow Vehicles and All-Terrain Vehicles on any road or trail.)
Outdoor Burning Violation Ministry of Transportation Rates applicable at time of call and/or appropriate fine from the Open Air Burning By-law applicable at time of call.
Fire Investigation
(Cost Recovery)		 Municipal and third party contractor fees involved with investigation.
False Alarms Ministry of Transportation Rates applicable at time of call for each alarm after the second alarm in a twelve month period.
File Searches $100 for Inspection Reports, Fire Code Compliance Letters and Response Reports provided to property owners or insurance companies upon request.
Property File Searches $100 for searches of property files for information such as previous fire code violations, outstanding work orders and retrofit requirement compliance.
LLBO Liquor License Letter $100 for agency letter for liquor license application.
LLBO Special Occasion Permit Letter

$40 for agency letter for special occasion permit application. Additional charges apply if property inspection is required.
Level 1 (Basic) Propane Storage Risk Safety Management Plan Review $100
Level 2 (Complex) Propane Storage Risk Safety Management Plan Review $85 (This fee applies where we are requested to review and/or approve a level 1 or 2 Risk Safety Management Plan as part of an application to the TSSA for a license to store propane.)

* Daytime Burning Permits are issued by the Fire Chief for an approved date and time for burns that exceed non-permit regulations. No permits are issued during Fire Bans. For more details on burning rules please see Burning Permits and By-Law.

All Fire Department Fees are subject to applicable taxes.

Fire Safety Inspection Fees*
ServiceFee
Day Care Centres $175
Private Home Day Care Centres $100
Licensed Marijuana Grow Operation $85 per hour
Care Occupancy (Nursing Homes, Rest Homes and Old Age Homes)  $85 per hour**
Care Occupancy (Special Care Homes) $85 per hour**
Repeat Owner Requested Inspections (Short Term Rentals, Bed & Breakfasts, Cottage Rentals, Country Inns, Vacation Apartments) $85 per hour

Follow-up Fire Safety Inspection to verify compliance with an inspection order issued as a result of a fire code violation.

 $85 per hour

Fire Safety Plan Review for subsequent reviews of plans that were not approved during the initial review.

 $50 per review

* Upon request for Accreditation or Licensing.
** Applies to Inspections and Monitored Fire Drills.

All Fire Department Fees are subject to applicable taxes.

Fire Department Incident Response Fees
ServiceFee
Preventable False Alarm Response 1

$543.03 per hour per vehicle (1st hour)
$271.50 for each additional half hour or part thereof. (Rate set by MTO.)
False Alarm Due to Failure to Notify 2 $543.03 per hour per vehicle (1st hour)
$271.50 for each additional half hour or part thereof. (Rate set by MTO.)
Standby Charges 3 $200.00 per hour per vehicle
Vehicle Accidents and Fires on Provincial Highways 4

$543.03 per hour per vehicle (1st hour)
$271.50 for each additional half hour or part thereof. (Rate set by MTO.)
Vehicle Accidents and Fires on All Other Roads or Property 5

$543.03 per hour per vehicle (1st hour)
$271.50 for each additional half hour or part thereof. (Rate set by MTO.)
Propane Incident Responses 6

$543.03 per hour per vehicle (1st hour)
$271.50 for each additional half hour or part thereof. (Rate set by MTO.)
Hazardous Materials Spills

$543.03 per hour per vehicle (1st hour) plus cost of consumables. 7
$271.50 for each additional half hour or part thereof. (Rate set by MTO.)

Illicit Drug Labs and/or Marijuana Grow Operations

$543.03 per hour per vehicle (1st hour) plus cost of consumables. 7
$271.50 for each additional half hour or part thereof. (Rate set by MTO.)
Additional Fire Department Expenses 8 Actual costs.
Fire Watch  $40.00 per hour per firefighter. Minimum of two firefighters.
Securing of Premises/Scene until release to owner, insurance company, Fire Marshal or police. $40.00 per hour per firefighter. Minimum of two firefighters.

1 Preventable False Alarm Response Fee is chargeable to the owner of the property at which the alarm was activated, as defined in Section 1 of the Ontario Fire Code, O Reg 388/97 as amended, for every third and subsequent occurrence in a 12 month period, where fire department vehicles are dispatched, and it is determined by the fire department that the alarm was due to an improperly functioning alarm system. This shall not apply where the conditions were not within the control of the owner, including but not limited to, changes in atmospheric conditions, excessive vibrations, power failure, malicious actions of other of fluctuations of water pressure.

2 False Alarm Due to Failure to Notify Fee is chargeable to the owner of the property at which the alarm was activated, as defined in Section 1 of the Ontario Fire Code, O Reg 388/97 as amended, for each occurrence where fire department vehicles are dispatched to an activated fire alarm where it is determined by the fire department that the alarm was caused by either a test or repairs to the alarm system where the owner failed to notify their alarm system and/or the fire department.

3 Standby Charges apply when fire department vehicles and crews are requested to provide standby. The standby requests may include, but are not limited to, special events, businesses, or events that require rescue teams to be present.

4 Vehicle Accidents and Fires on Provincial Highways is a fee is chargeable to the Ministry of Transportation for all vehicle-accident, safety or fire related fire department services that occur on provincial highways.

5 Vehicle Accidents and Fires on All Other Roads or Property Fee is charged directly to the at fault owner/driver when the incident takes place on a Municipal or County road.

6 Propane Incident Response Fee is chargeable where the fire department determines that a propane incident has been caused directly by a person or company, who has failed to take reasonable precautions including getting a locate and following proper guidelines regarding digging around locates.

7 Consumable Material Costs will be recovered in addition to the hourly cost of fire department response for any response involving the containment or clean-up of a hazardous materials spill or for any response involving illicit drugs or marijuana grow operations. Costs will be billed to the owner or person in control of the pollutant(s).

8 Additional Fire Department Expenses are charged to the owner of a property to recovery actual costs where we are required to retain a private contractor or rent special equipment in order to preserve property or evidence or eliminate an emergency or risk. Examples include, but are not limited to, renting heavy machinery such as excavators, contracting security services to protect property or contracting the clean-up of hazardous materials or dangerous goods. Additional expenses that may be required to bring a fire under control that may be recovered as part of this by-law include the use of fire fighting foam, dry chemical extinguishing devices and any equipment or PPE damaged during operations.

All Fire Department Fees are subject to applicable taxes.

Burn bans

Any municipal or county-wide burn ban supersedes these rules. Burn bans will be prominently announced on this website.