March 1, 2016

Letter in reference to open burning in Brunswick County, the Town of Leland, and the Town of
Belville
Dear Sir or Maam;
The recent open burning complaints received by our department, the Town of Leland, and the
Town of Belville have provided a great opportunity to educate both young and old, new and
established citizens of Northern Brunswick County. I will take this opportunity to share,
educate, and answer to the best of our ability what we, Leland Fire/Rescue, known to be the
current state of open burning. At the end of this letter I will attach several hyperlinks to websites
that can be used for research.
This is a much greater issue than cultural differences. Many come from areas of established
communities that have been around for centuries. Belville and Leland have not. Both towns and
the surrounding county areas have just begun to get established. They are both young towns
when compared to the communities that many have come from. This requires all cultures to
learn about how they affect those that have come from other areas and how they affect those
from this area. Neither one should expect the other to change simply because I said so! It
didnt work when we were children and it wont work now. We need to respect why something
is the way it is.
Northern Brunswick County is THE PLACE TO BE in North Carolina. Growth is abound
everywhere we look. It is important to understand that this growth requires some land clearing
to make way for new parks, businesses, shops, and residences. ALL of the major developments
in Brunswick County were developed using the same land clearing procedures that were used in
creating what we now call Belville, Leland and northern Brunswick County. To include;
Magnolia Greens, Waterford, Brunswick Forest, Olde Towne, Jackeys Creek, Westport,
Mallory Creek, Windsor Park and the list keeps going. This is a part of growth.
I am attaching the hyperlinks for research and the responsible parties contact information. It is
important to note that any of the folks that you speak to can only enforce current laws and
regulations. If these laws and regulations do not meet your expectations they are traditionally
handled at a state level. Local Governments are faced with a choice of allow it or dont. To
say to ban it all together is not necessarily going to work because then you have to provide for
vegetative pick up and disposal and that comes with higher taxes and even more bureaucracy.
Piles of debris everywhere waiting for pick up. The cost of contractors or employees to handle
the very limited demand. All comes at a cost.
I will also note that Leland Volunteer Fire/Rescue Department, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
We are not a unit of local government (ie; the County of Brunswick, Town of Leland nor Town

of Belville). We do contract with the local governments to provide emergency services to these
communities and have only very limited enforcement.
Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with what these laws are in NC and do not hesitate
to ask questions! Each of the hyperlinks below provide applicable laws and regulations. We
cannot however, arbitrarily apply what people think it should be. This should be directed to
our state elected officials to examine.
Any questions please do not hesitate to call or email me. Our phone numbers are on this
letterhead and my email address is john.grimes@lelandfirerescue.com. I would also encourage
you to search for social media sites of these agencies for announcements and information.

Respectfully submitted;

John Grimes
Chief of Fire and Emergency Services
Leland Fire Rescue
http://lelandfirerescue.com/resource-center/
Brunswick County Fire Marshals Office
910-253-5383
http://www.brunswickcountync.gov/es/fire/
NC Air Quality Wilmington Regional Office
910-796-7215
http://daq.state.nc.us/rules/rules/
North Carolina General Statues on Open Burning
http://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_106/Article_78.html
NC Forestry Service
Brunswick County Office
910-755-7772
http://ncforestservice.gov/contacts/Brunswick.htm
Town of Belville
http://www.townofbelville.com/publicinfo.htm
Town of Leland
https://www.municode.com/library/nc/leland/codes/code_of_ordinances