Brisbane man confused over fire pit complaint to council

Backyard fires have sparked hundreds of complaints to Brisbane City Council, and this Darra dad was the latest to cop a visit from a council officer. There was just one problem...

Fire pits have become a source of angst across Brisbane.

A DARRA father has hit out at neighbours who reported him to Brisbane City Council for lighting a fire pit - even though he doesn’t own one.

Casey Shogren said the incident was a waste of council’s time.

“We don’t own a fire pit. If you are concerned, you could always do the neighbourly thing and knock on our door. We are very friendly,” he said.

“We have only recently moved into our house in Centenary Village and it’s a shame to see people can be complete walnuts.”

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Mr Shogren said he was coming home at the end of the day when he saw the BCC officer had just beaten him to it.

“I was literally pulling up from work and I saw the council car pull up before me,” he said.

“He said ‘we’ve had a report you’re having a fire, but you’re coming from work aren’t you?’ And I said ‘yeah mate. Come in and have a look around if you want, I can prove there’s no fire’. He said it was all right, he’d just give me a copy of a piece of paper with the rules on it.”

Mr Shogren said his wife and newborn baby were the only occupants inside the house, and neither of them had lit a fire.

“Someone doesn’t like us or someone’s just got the wrong house,” he said.

“You can smell fires every night. Half the neighbourhood has fires.”

The notice Casey was given by the BCC officer.

But he was impressed with the rapid response vehicle that attended the scene.

“It’s a serious council car with flashing lights. I was thinking ‘here we go, what have I done?’” Mr Shogren said.

“It was good to see the council action complaints so fast, but at the same time, I want to know what happens to the person who made the complaint because they’ve just wasted council’s time.”

A council spokesman said BCC hasn’t issued any infringements for lighting fires this year, but have handed out three zero value warning notices to residents.

Since the start of the year, they’ve received 341 complaints about backyard burning.

“The requirements of Brisbane City Council’s Health, Safety and Amenity Local Law 2009 state that a person must not light a fire in any area of the city, other than a rural area, unless exempt. These laws have been in place since 2009 and have not been impacted by coronavirus,” he said.

“Council is urging residents to be mindful of the rules around lighting open air fires as they can pose a serious safety risk.”