Fire chiefs urge caution with outside fires

Courtesy photo

The Putnam County fire chiefs, along with the Putnam County EMA, would like to remind everyone with the recent dry spell and high winds that have been occurring to please be careful with an outside fire.

While local firefighters would recommend not burning during this dry spell, they ask anyone who makes that choice to follow these guidelines:

• Try to stay 50 feet or more away from structures,

• Try to only burn during daylight hours, and

• Make sure the fire is in the presence of a competent person who has access to readily available fire-extinguishing equipment and knowledge of how to use that equipment. It is very important to have a competent person around an outside fire. Outdoor fires frequently burn out of control because no one is in attendance to notify the fire department and to take action to prevent fire spread.

Currently, there is no burn ban in effect for Putnam County.