So last night as I was leaving my condo, my nose was assaulted by the smell of something burning. At first I was like, is someones condo on fire in our building? As I walked toward the front lobby the smell got worse and worse to the point that I honestly thought something in the building was on fire. Then I opened the front door and BAM, the smell was overwhelming. I walked out into the street to see if I could spot fire from our building, nothing. So I walked down Magnolia a bit and there it was, a bonfire off to the side of the building next to mine. There were 2 guys standing around this fire, which was about 5 feet high and a couple of feet wide. The fire was in the back about 200 ft from the front gate. I was on my way to a friends CD release show and I was video recording it so I didn't have time to figure out why these guys have a raging fire going. So, on my way to the show I called 911 and reported what I thought was a fire violation.
When I got home, around 1am, the fire was out so I thought hey my 911 call made a difference. I was so wrong.
Before heading out to Target today I got online and saw on Uptown Crime Blotter that last night someone had called about the fire an hour before I did and another over an hour after. This is strange I thought. As I headed out the door today, WHAM, again the smell of something burning. This time I went over to the fire pit to see what the hell is going on. Get this, no one was even there. There was a piece of smelly burning plywood on the fire and no one was in sight. That is when I took this picture. Looks like whomever was burning wood had plenty more to burn. After I took the picture I got into my car and called 911 again and they connected me to the Fire Dept. They told me they would send someone out.
Jump ahead 5 hours later and I return home. Guess what, the fire is still going but this time 3 people are standing around it. After I get all my crap inside I head back out for a talk with these people. I get up to the fire and there are 2 guys in their early 20's and a kid who looked around 13 just hanging out. After expressing my concerns about the fire one of the guys told me, yes we have had several police and fire teams out here since last night but they all told us as long as we are keeping an eye on it we are allowed to continue our business. Then he told me that he works for the police which I thought was a bit strange. Anyway, I told them that as legal as this might be I would appreciate it if they would stop since the smoke is penetrating my building and the smell is horrible. Well, I guess that is that. Hopefully this is not going to be a regular thing. It is a shame that some people just don't think about how their actions are affecting others. Unfortunately, some people just don't care.
UPDATE: Comment 9 is a recap of the topic at the last 2311 C.A.P.S. meeting.
11 comments:
They can have an open bonfire in the city? I have got to call b.s. on that one. Man, you can't have an open fire just anywhere you want in a state park, let alone some urban city.
Yeah, this whole thing "stinks". I will bring it up at the CAPS meeting this Tuesday.
Shoot, every time I go to the beach on the East Coast, we have to call the local Fire Marshall to get fire pit permits for, THE BEACH. A beach Fire is surrounded by tons of sand and an entire body of water and you still have to get a permit. They take it very seriously.
You can't have a charcoal grill on a wooden porch in this city because of strict fire code laws. I would imagine a fire pit 20 ft from a building would be a violation as well.
I keep having this thought in my head that we're due for a huge fire in Uptown.
A conflagration of 19th century proportions? Probably not, but still something that'll definitely create a huge swath of damage.
This kind of post doesn't do much to dispel the validity of this thought.
Butternut, please do, and report back to us what CAPS says. Make sure to let them know what the people told you the cops/fire said they could do and how many calls were made.
To Anonymous 12:57 -
If you're interested in these and other issues, please also try to come to the CAPS meeting in person. Turnout is generally suboptimal and far less than the number of people bothered by goings-on in the neighborhood!
Thanks for taking the time to write up your experience I linked to the story from the Crime Blotter.
I found this info today:
8-4-160 Bonfires.
(a) No person shall make or cause a fire to be made for burning any combustible waste material, except leaves, in any public way or public space or upon any private property within the city, except in a suitable metal or wire burner so constructed as to prevent the escape of burning material or sparks which might endanger surrounding property. (b) No person shall make or cause a fire to be made for burning any leaves in any public way or public space or upon any private property without complying with the following conditions: burning only in small piles not to exceed 18 inches in depth or 30 inches in diameter and never adding leaves to a burning pile, rather starting a new pile; lighting the leaf pile near the top on the side sheltered from the wind; no burning being done when wind speed is sufficiently strong to displace the leaves; burning to be at the edge of public ways; no burning without being properly supervised by an adult; leaves shall not be burned while wet; when ashes are thoroughly extinguished, all ashes shall be swept up into adequate covered containers approved for refuse and shall be placed for storage at an approved point of refuse collection; and burning shall be done in full compliance with all requirements of the Chicago Air Pollution Control Ordinance and other applicable laws and ordinances. (c) No person shall make or cause a fire to be made for burning any waste materials, with or without the protection required by paragraphs (a) or (b) above, in any location within a radius of 200 feet of any tank containing flammable liquids or any filling station pump, tank or other inlet or outlet for flammable liquids; nor closer than 50 feet to any wood frame building or stock, store or accumulation of timber, or other combustible material. (Prior code 193-8)
I found this HERE.
Dude- I think I sat next to you this evening at the CAPS meeting. Is it me or were those cops laughing at you? The head guy had said to call 911 and talk to the "top guy", REALLY? Like that will work?
I don't know who's worse- the thugs on the streets or the cops themselves.
I didn't get the impression they were laughing at me at all. When I explained the issue it seemed as if none of them had any idea what I was talking about and actually asked me questions like if the fire was in a pit or if it had a cover and so on. Then one of the officers expressed how what I described was in fact illegal. I would definitely say the CAPS facilitator seemed shocked. The Officer who was sitting in for Sgt. Haggerty kept saying if the police aren't getting the issues delt with to ask for a supervisor when calling 911. He said it in the same tone as they do when they tell us to call 911 again and again anytime we see ANYTHING. Of course, I don't know how comfortable I would feel calling a Cops supervisor to report on him. Getting into some OMG we just found Butternut in the trunk of a car on the bottom of Lake Michigan kinda stuff.
Now here's the kicker. At some point I mentioned how strange it was that several different officers and a fire response team allowed what was earlier described as, an illegal bonfire, to burn all weekend. Then I mentioned that the guy who created the bonfire gave me the impression he was an off duty officer. That is when the room got weird. If anyone got the impression the Cops were laughing at me, that might have been the moment. I got the feeling that some people were shocked, some were confused, and others were like (lol, good luck with that one).
Anyway, after today the whole issue is a moot point. If it happens again I will have to hope that our condo board and/or the building Manager will deal with the issue. Oh Snap, maybe I can convince my building to make our own Bonfire area on the front lawn. Hey, I have a bag of marshmallows in my cupboard. Sweet!
What truly scares me is this, what if "Mr. Bonfire" is a cop? That would mean the Police Dept. and the Fire Dept. allowed this guy to carry on an illegal act for over 2 days with complete disregard for the same laws that they are sworn to uphold. What kind of message does that send to our community? You can't do this but we can? We have enough problems in Uptown as it is.
Oh well, hopefully I will live a long life and add this story to the many other interesting things I have experienced on this crazy ass planet of ours. Maybe I will call my life story "The Butternut Chronicles". The story of a Man, a Bonfire, and a Dream.
Jeez Butternut,
When are we getting an update on this blog?
lol, when I recover from the Bronchitis that has been plaguing my body for the last week and my brain starts working again.
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