Fire Season 

April 1 to October 31 each year.  From April 1 until the leaves are on the trees is especially bad.

Please check with the local fire department or the town during the cottage season to see if it is safe to have open fires. 

https://www.gravenhurst.ca/en/services-and-info/forest-fire-danger-rating-and-open-air-burning.aspx

FACT SHEET:

Fees for Service – Fire Department Response to Open Air Burning By-Law Violations

As a policy of the Town of Gravenhurst Town Council, when the fire department responds to a property to extinguish a fire and that property owner is served an offence notice by Town By-Law officials, the property owner will be invoiced for fire department cost recovery. Property owners are, at all times, responsible for the activities that are carried out upon their properties, even if they aren’t physically present (i.e. rental and “Airbnb” type properties). This policy is enabled through the Towns “Fees and Services” By-Law.

Normally, several fire trucks are dispatched to this type of incident and these will be invoiced at the rate of $570.50 per hour per truck (plus HST).

Note that where a very large fire occurs, the Ministry of Natural Resources may be called in to assist. Some of their air assets (i.e. - helicopters, water bombers) are billed out at +$7000.00 per hour each and so the invoice for such a response will be very large indeed.

FAQ’s

Q. Who determines whether a violation of the law has occurred?

A. Town By-Law officials.

Q. How is the Fee for Service calculated?

A. In Ontario, the widely accepted standard rate for a fire truck response is set by agreement with the Province of Ontario. In 2025, this rate is set at $570.50 per hour. This rate is subject to annual increases as dictated by the Province and to the application of HST. Local response protocols prescribe how many trucks respond to different types of incidents.

Fees charged by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNRF) are calculated based on a standard contract for service and vary widely. The decision to request the assistance of the MNRF rests solely with the fire department Incident Commander. (Please call the fire department at 705-687-3414 if you would like further information about the fees charged by the MNRF.)

 

Q. What happens if I refuse to pay an invoice directed at me?

A.  All invoices for service are issued by the Corporate Services department of the Town, and where an invoice is unpaid, it is subject to interest charges that accumulate monthly. After a prescribed period of time, these costs are assigned to the property taxes and registered as a lien against the title of the property.