Letterbox note drop implores residents to dob fireplace users into police - but who's really in the wrong?
A neighbourhood nitpicker has distributed notices encouraging residents to dob in households using their fireplaces to police and the local council.
A resident in Neutral Bay, within the North Sydney Council district, received a note in their letterbox asking, “have you seen your neighbours using their fireplace?”.
In bold letters it then demands its recipient help “stop pollution”, and provides the phone number for North Sydney Police and North Sydney Council.
The note sparked heated controversy online after a photo of it was uploaded to a local community Facebook group, many saying they were unaware that a rule existed.
“Is this serious? I didn’t think it’s illegal,” one person responded.
“Utter garbage. Nothing against the law with open fires,” another said.
According to the local council, however, people found to be causing “excessive” levels of smoke out of the chimney of their home can face fines.
“Residents are to ensure their wood heaters and open fireplaces are operated efficiently and are not emitting excessive smoke,” North Sydney Council’s website states.
“Smoke Abatement Notices and fines can be issued by Council for any wood heater or open fireplace emitting excessive smoke.”
The council set out a general “rule of thumb”, explaining that “if you can see or smell smoke, then you are not operating your wood heater or open fireplace correctly and are impacting your neighbours and family”.
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The site added harmful pollution could be “drastically reduced” if they were operated correctly.
The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage also said the use of fireplaces for general heating was “discouraged”, according to its website.
“Open fireplaces are very inefficient so their use is discouraged. Their heating efficiency is only about 10 per cent as air flow causes most heat generated to go up the chimney,” it states.
When installing fireplaces and wood heaters in new homes, those building must adhere to strict council policies to avoid being penalised.
North Sydney Police told Yahoo News Australia it had not received complaints from local residents regarding other people using their fireplaces.
Unless in the case of excessive smoke or a legitimate emergency, a spokesman said officers would refer those concerned about fireplace smoke to the council.
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