By ANDY GARDNER

North Country Now

MASSENA -- With support from the fire department, the village will seek public input as they consider revising the code to regulate outdoor campfires.

Deputy Mayor Matt Lebire said people are already having backyard fires, so they may as well put regulations on the books.

"It would be better to have the small fires regulated to have them kind of the wild west it is out there now, some called in some not," he said.

Speaking during public comment, Massena Volunteer Fire Dept. Chief Tim Quenneville said firefighters support the proposal.

"The volunteers are in favor of changing the code for outside burning. As everyone knows that lives in Massena, you can drive around anytime in the summer or fall and there's a lot of outside fires that don't get called in. The ones that we go to, that we're called to, it's usually because they have a bad neighbor who doesn't like them, so they call it in," Quenneville said. "On these calls, several times, we are harassed and threatened by some of these people. I think it's time to change the local law, or the code, to have a fire pit or fireplace in the backyard."

Lebire said they are looking at requiring the fire be contained in a fire pit or chiminea-like device, and neighbors would still have recourse if the size of the fire or smoke were to become a nuisance.

"Let's get it to where it's allowed but to a very regulated format which would define what could be used, how it could be used, where it could be used to make sure it's safe and less of a nuisance," he said.

Other members of the Board of Trustees backed the idea.

"People are already using these. Why not define the parameters so people can use them in a safe way and a regulated way?" Trustee Christine Winston said.

"A lot of people have fireplaces in the backyard ... This is a small town, the way it's written [in the draft proposal] ... is a good job," Trustee Albert Deshaies said. "I'm in favor of the changes."

Lebire said village officials will accept public input as they write a final version of the local law. They will consider at their March meeting setting a public hearing for April, which would precede any formal action by the board.