Domestic bonfires - ok or not?

I’m mean, it is traditional after all!

YANBU. We live in a small close and the layout of our house and small courtyard garden means that any bonfires or fire pit smoke come in through our back French doors. Get a green waste bin and have the waste collected.

Regarding fire pits..I wish people would put them out promptly and not let them smoke away until midnight or have one when it’s been 90 odd degrees and windows are open evening and overnight!

Bylaws where I live don't allow them.

im careful where I site my bbq in the garden so that it doesn’t blow onto my neighbours if they are sitting out

They’re totally normal near us, along with fire pits and BBQ’s. I’ve personally never understood why MN gets so worked up about it.

It depends where you live, I wouldn't have one in the summer as people have washing out, sit in their garden and have windows open, I have had small ones in those dustbin type things when it has been colder.

Yeah, someone near us has a bloody fire pit in a residential area where the houses and gardens are very close together and does this all the time.

The trouble with that logic is that people are finally able to have their windows open to try and cool their houses in the evening. So we all get the smell of smoke in our houses or have to sit with windows closed in these temperatures.

It is really, really selfish. No one needs to light a fire at this time of year and in these temperatures.

Fire starters should be chained to a rock and have their livers pecked out daily by an eagle.

Someone further down our road does this and it’s awful. Not just the smell, stink laundry etc, but I’m severely asthmatic and it means I can’t outside, snd have to keep windows shut, when they’re burning things. Another neighbour has an asthmatic young son who ended up in hospital having a really bad attack, and they are certain it was because of the selfish gits burning thing. Plus it often reeks of chemicals so god only knows what they’re burning and what toxic chemicals it’s giving off. Council appears two days later after calls to report it and just go ‘well there isn’t a fire now’!

Where I am in Australia there's a total ban on bonfires as it's heavily treed and most houses are timber-framed, if not entirely built of timber. Now I think of it, I'd be amazed if there's anywhere in Oz where outside burning isn't heavily regulated.

BUT
Where I am, garden waste is collected weekly in a big bin. The council makes it easier to do the right thing. They also build and maintain free electric barbecues at the beach and in parks to keep people onside.

I'm sure this isn't cheap but it works.

@TunnocksOrDeath thats horrible 🤢

I don't mind the smell of burning wood so much, but one of our neighbours chose last Saturday evening when we had every window in the house open (trying to get cool) to burn the lowest grade fatty dead-animal they could find as some sort of offering to the gods of the bank holiday. No one who could actually cook would have had the brass-neck to call something that smelled that bad "barbeque". This filled every room in our home with the odour of a condemned kebab shop. Erruuughhhh.

Depends on local bye laws, ours allow for burning garden waste, no time limits in force.
We have a fire pit, had a burn a few weeks ago, early evening, whilst it was drizzling (so no washing out etc) to be met with a loud "Ffs" from next door (who proceeded to smoke some seriously strong weed outside an hour later as our fire was dying out)?!

What about my neighbours who have BBQs very often - except they always use wood that hasn't been dried properly instead of charcoal! They always say they're just having a BBQ so there's no problem ...

A little smoke is fine. Plumes of acrid, black, smoke, not so much!

We brave the dark and spider willies here. 🤣

Oh but MN says it will be darked on and spiders will rub their willies on it!
Hopefully you are that relaxed that a little smoke from my fire won't have bothered you

Absolutely fine in the autumn/winter when it’s overcast and grey.

Completely antisocial in the summer.

Definitely not ok. And nothing like a bbq, bonfires go on for hours and smell horrible throughout, a bbq is only smoky for about ten minutes initially plus a bit of sizzle during actual cooking. No comparison.

You'd never get to that point if you lived near us, as we have washing out at all times of day and night, all year round!

Flaming Phil next door is having a burn off as we speak. Its windy asf and the smell is coming into my house. Its so unnecessary.

It's just part of life and always has been.

I don't pay them too much mind to be honest, even if I have to dash out and grab my washing in.

It also perfectly fine to hold different views without being abusive.

I cooked some steaks on the bbq the other day. Increadible amount of smoke came off those suckers. Easily as much as a fire. Do you want to ban bbqs too?

Had a couple here when we were new and had half a jungle to tackle in the garden. Mentioned it to the neighbours first who were slightly bemused as to why we are asking and didn't object in the least.

Don't have anywhere suitable for one now although we have plenty more garden waste it would be helpful to burn.

I think they smell nice.

I think there should be such fires at designated times. Garden waste for example.