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Welcome to the town of Franklin, Massachusetts





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Link for Permits, Documents and Questions
Franklin Town Seal
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Burning Permits
Burning Season is between January 15 and May 1
Burning Permits 2012



Burn Permit Season - January 15 – May 1, 2012

Please review the Open Burning Requirements and Responsibilities then scroll to the bottom of this page of obtain a Burning Permit for 2012.

For 2012 Burning Permit Holders, Please click here to request permission to burn today or call on the Burning Permit Activation Line (508) 553-5574 or go to
www.franklin.ma.us and proceed to the fire department page.

You must activate your permit between 10-noon ONLY







OPEN BURNING REQUIREMENTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Open burning under poor atmospheric conditions can create a smoke nuisance, aggravate health and respiratory conditions. If not done properly and controlled, it can also endanger life, real property, and woodlands. For these reasons, open burning is closely regulated in Massachusetts by multiple regulatory organizations.

You must obtain a PERMIT for any open burning from the Franklin Fire Headquarters, 40 West Central Street. You can also access our On-Line Permitting Process.  Your permit will be e-mailed to you immediately but may take longer due to processing.

There is no permit fee for the season which runs from January 15 through May 1 annually.

Burning rules include:

Brush, cane, driftwood, forestry debris, agriculture-related materials, agricultural land clearing only, and fungus-infected Elmwood are allowed under the following conditions:

1.     Burning must be at least 75 feet from any dwellings.

2.     Burning must be carried out between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily.    Burning must begin by noon.

3.     Burning must take place on land closest to the source of the material to be burned.

Burning of the following materials is PROHIBITED and may subject you to revocation of your permit and/or a fine:

circlebullet.jpg       Grass, hay, leaves, and stumps

circlebullet.jpg       Tires

circlebullet.jpg       Construction materials and lumber

Also prohibited is:

 circlebullet.jpg       Stacking, placing, or storing combustible material such that the department may presume that it will be burned.

 circlebullet.jpg       Failure to obtain a burning permit.

circlebullet.jpg       Failure to fully extinguish the fire by 4 p.m. daily.

 circlebullet.jpg       Failure to control/contain the fire.

EACH day of burning, you must:

circlebullet.jpg        Call (508) 553-5574 or click here to activate your permit. This must be done between 10 a.m. and Noon. No permission will be granted after Noontime.

circlebullet.jpg        When calling, leave the day, your name, address and the 2012 permit number

circlebullet.jpg        Have a means of controlling the fire, such as a garden hose, pressurized  water pump, shovels and rakes, with sufficient help.

circlebullet.jpg        Attend fire at all times.

circlebullet.jpg        Extinguish the fire fully by 4 p.m.



The Fire Chief maintains the right to revoke any permits or to cancel any permits due to high forest fire danger or to deny a permit to any person who he believes will not follow the Open Burning Requirements and Responsibilities or to any person who has violated these requirements in the past.

Whoever violates any provision of 527 CMR 10.22 shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500 plus the cost of suppression or by imprisonment for not more than one month.

Click here to obtain a Burning Permit for 2012.  Please note that obtaining a permit is not permission to burn on any specific day.  You must use the above link or contact the Burning Permit Activation Line at (508) 528-5574 each day you would like to burn.


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