Education & Prevention

Home Safety Inspections

The Howard Fire Rescue Department has been awarded a "Safety - It's Worth the Energy" grant through the Wisconsin Public Service Foundation to provide home fire safety inspections to a target, at-risk audience in the Village of Howard.  This inspection will include installation of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors where needed at no cost to the resident.  If you would like, our firefighters will complete a home safety analysis at the same time and advise you of possible fire or fall hazards that are identified.

Initially we are targeting homes that were built before 1992 or homes in which elderly adults reside.  To schedule an appointment, please contact us at (920) 434-5564. 

Burning Regulations

Open burning is defined as any fire wherein the products of combustion are emitted into the open air and are not directed through a screened stack or chimney at least three feet in height. Recreational fires are defined as any fires such as a camp fire or cooking fire located at a single-family or multi-family residence for the purpose of recreation and personal enjoyment.

Open burning is prohibited in the Village of Howard, except as follows:
  • Grass and brush fires are regulated and are only allowable with a permit.
  • Recreational fires are permitted when:
    • The fire is below ground in a fire pit with a minimum depth of four inches and a maximum of three feet in diameter.
    • The fire is contained in a portable device that is placed upon a non-combustible surface and secured.
    • The fire may not extend more than two feet above the source at any time.
    • Burning materials must be contained within the fire pit enclosure at all times.
    • All below-ground fire pits shall be surrounded on the outside, above ground, by a non-combustible material such as concrete block, rock, or metal.

Conditions of Burning

  • Fires must be no closer than 25 feet from any building, structure, shed, or garage.
  • Conditions must be favorable for burning with regard to wind direction and speed. No fire shall be started at a time when wind speed exceeds 7 miles per hour.
  • Open fires are not permissible when the wind will cause smoke, combustibles, or other materials to be carried by the wind toward any building or other combustible or flammable material. Smoke from any fire shall not create a nuisance for neighboring property owners.
  • Open fire shall not contain any material that includes rubbish, garbage, recyclable items, trash, leaves, grass clippings, and green vegetative materials, any material made of or coated with rubber, plastic, leather or petroleum based materials, and shall not contain any flammable or combustible liquids.
  • Adequate fire suppression equipment must be present to extinguish or control the fire at all times. Adequate fire suppression equipment shall consist of shovels, fire extinguishers, water hoses, or other like equipment sufficient to extinguish the fire if necessary.
  • Fires must be attended at all times by at least one responsible person of age 18 or older until the fire is completely extinguished.
  • It shall be the duty of any renter or lessee at a multi-family dwelling to notify and obtain written permission from the property owner prior to initiating any fire.
  • The property owner, renter, or lessee, shall be held liable for any damage caused by any fire, including the cost of any citations.

Fire Inspection Services

The Village of Howard Fire Department provides fire inspection services for commercial, industrial, and multi-family residential buildings. The Fire Department conducts these inspections to look for potential fire hazards and to subsequently protect the buildings and residents who occupy the buildings from fire damage.

In 2009, the Village Board adopted an ordinance which created fees for fire inspections based on the type and size of the building being inspected. Please review the Fire Inspection Fee Schedule and the Fire Inspection Building Classifications.