South Frontenac Lifts Level One Fire Ban; Encourages Caution

Effective 9:00 am on October 31, 2025, South Frontenac’s Fire Chief, Del Blakney, has lifted the Level One Fire Ban that has been in place since August 29. South Frontenac and surrounding areas have experienced an extremely dry summer and fall leading to an extended in place fire ban.   

“We are lifting the ban, but we would like to remind residents that burning when it is windy is extremely dangerous”, says Blakney. “If you’re going to use a burn barrel, the barrel must be placed on a non-combustible surface and should always be supervised. Ideally, all burn barrels should have a metal screen on the top.” 

South Frontenac Fire and Rescue also asks that residents and visitors always have water on hand to control the fire and to completely extinguish the flames when they go to bed or head indoors.  As of October 29, SFFR has responded to 20 burn complaints and 42 wildfires (grass/crops/forests/islands) during the 2025 fire season.

Fire season in South Frontenac starts April 1 and typically runs until October 31. While a Level One Fire Ban permits cooking and campfires; a Total Fire Ban prohibits all open-air burning, including that for cooking and campfires. Residents can subscribe to the Fire Ban Status page of the Township’s website to get alerts when the Fire Ban status changes. A permit is not required for open air burning, but any open air fire must be supervised at all times according to the Township’s Open Air Burning By-law.

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