Lavallette Resident Suggests Fire Pit Ban, Councilman Will Research Issue

Fire Pit (Photo: Fire. Water. Burn./Flickr)

Responding to a request from two residents at a meeting held Monday night, Lavallette officials will look into the regulation and potential ban of fire pits and chimineas in the borough.

One resident, William Murray, urged the borough council to ban fire pits, saying the wind off the ocean could lead to a building catching on fire. He also said renters who might be drinking on summer nights do not mix with an open flame.

“You have wind coming off the ocean and if one house goes up, it’ll spread like that,” he said, adding that a relative who is a firefighter with the New York City Fire Department was surprised fire pits are allowed in Lavallette.

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Gary Hunsinger, another borough resident, agreed.

“This summer when it was very nice out and we had windows open, it was 2 o’clock in the morning and I thought my house was on fire,” he said.

The comments urging a ban on fire pits did not elicit a response from the governing body except for Councilman James G. Borowski, who said he would take the matter up with the executive officers of the borough fire company to see if they have a recommendation.

“We may want to take some action in regards to that,” he said. “We’ve gotten calls about smoke and have walked up and there’s someone with the chiminea on, having a good old time.”