A reminder to those who live out in the rural areas, as long as there is no burn ban in place, controlled burns are allowed but it’s always important to plan ahead and notify the necessary authorities.

“You want to be sure and call your local dispatch, whether you’re calling into Adel to the Dallas County Sheriff’s office dispatch or you call into the Perry Police Department and talk to the dispatchers there.  Let them know who you are, where you are, that you will be conducting an open burn and it will be supervised.  Give them all the details about it.  That way when the passing motorist on the highway sees the smoke, they call the dispatch and say there’s a fire and dispatch doesn’t know anything about it and the next thing you know we’re rolling down the road in an emergency situation that is not an emergency and there was no need for us to go in the first place.”

That’s Perry Fire Chief Chris Hinds who says heaven forbid that happens and crews are tied up responding to an unnecessary call when a real emergency happens.