Bonfires

Width, Height and Length Permitted and Other Encumbrances

By Dan Rattiner

It’s a long, cold winter and I wonder whether our local government sometimes just doesn’t have enough to do. So they sit around and they dream things up.

In December, for example, the East Hampton Village board got together and began making new laws about beach gatherings. They debated. How big should they allow bonfires to be? Some people said the bigger the bonfire the better. Others said we shouldn’t be allowing any bonfires at all because they are a fire hazard. And still others said a bonfire should not be bigger than four feet high by four feet wide by four feet long because bigger than that, no matter how far it is from the nearest beach grass, and they had already decided it had to be at least fifty feet from the nearest beach grass, the sparks would make it a fire hazard.

What about having it mandatory to keep a fire extinguisher on hand, somebody asked? Then somebody else said that having a big metal six-gallon pail would do it. The ocean is right there, after all. Anyway, they ultimately voted to pass a law saying that a bonfire could be no bigger than two feet by two feet by two. And they also decided that the bonfire could not be any closer than a hundred feet from the nearest posted bird-nesting areas. If any of these rules were breached, an police officer will be called the beach could issue a ticket that could bring a fine of up to $500 or fifteen days in jail per offense. Although to who it might be issued could be a problem, since the beach is for everybody. The party organizers, came the reply.

The noises that accompany a bonfire were discussed. It was decided not to do anything. There already are laws involving decibel levels in the village. Noises such as a band playing or people laughing or cheering are not supposed to exceed 50 decibels after 7 p.m.

There was also a discussion about insurance. What if somebody stepped on a piece of glass or something? There already is in effect an ordinance that says people having fundraisers or weddings or other public gatherings on their lawns have to get a party permit where more than 150 people are in attendance. To get that permit, party organizers name the Village as one of the entities indemnified from liability in the result of anything going wrong. Some board members wanted to extend this ordinance to include public beaches and beach parties, and to lower the minimum number of people at which the requirement kicks in to 25, since you rarely get more than a 25 at a bonfire and also to raise the amount of the insurance since the lighting is bad at the beach, the ocean is right there with its own dangers and risks and people drink and so forth and so on, so the village should be covered for a minimum of at least $500,000 for liability and $250,000 for property damage.

At the end of the meeting, it was decided back there in December to look into this insurance business further and discuss it again, which was done this past Friday. At that time, it was decided to can any insurance requirement.

“Nobody’s homeowner insurance is going to cover a rider for the village for a beach party without an extra charge,” said Barbara Borsack, the deputy mayor. “Requiring people who want to have a family gathering at the beach, for example, to pay $300 to $500 extra for an insurance certificate is a lot to ask.”

And so that was the end of that.

Personally, I’ve been wondering too about the risks involved with bonfires, particularly the fire risks. I think there ought to be a law that any bonfire in excess of one foot by one foot by one foot be required to have at least four adult male persons on hand who have consumed a minimum of three beers at least half an hour before the lighting of the fire and should have the empties to prove it.

That should do it. Next.