Swampscott residents are still able to enjoy open wood fires following the failure of Article No. 14 during Town Meeting.

After facing significant opposition from Town Meeting Members, Article No. 14 was the only warrant item to fail Monday night. Town Meeting Members voted against restricting open wood fires in Swampscott, with many citing community bonding and family time around bonfires.

“At a time when so many of our children are spending time in their rooms, on tablets, and there’s an epidemic of isolation in Swampscott and the country at large, having a responsible cooking fire – the ability to do that – strengthens family. It bonds together families and neighbors and friends,” said Town Meeting Member Joe Simons. “It enhances the overall happiness and enjoyment of this town that we all enjoy and pay so much to be here.”

Massachusetts state law forbids all outdoor wood burning from May 1 through January, except for “small cooking fires.”

“Generally those fires last about a half an hour, where the wood burns to the coals and then you cook over the coals. Unfortunately people are using this as a loop hole to have a bonfire for four to five hours and calling it a cooking fire as long as I have a marshmallow or hotdog cooking over the flame,” said Dr. Lawrence Block, who sponsored the article. “The state leaves enforcement up to individual towns.”

Article No. 14 proposed that neighbors “take photos of the fire and those responsible for it and submit a complaint with the photo, the time and date of the violation and the offender(s) names to the Board of Health for review.”

“This does the exact opposite of what we want to do,” Simons said, adding that it would have pinned neighbor against neighbor.

One woman, who wore a shirt reading “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of BBQ” said the tradition of wood fire cooking is the “heartbeat of our home” and regulating it in any way would “undermine our property rights and our privacy.”

Block said 22 towns and cities in Massachusetts have banned backyard campfires. He noted “no other coastal town” – outside of Swampscott and Nahant – allows beach fires.

“There’s no way you can possibly have a fire in Swampscott without adversely affecting the health of a neighbor,” Block said. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t have fires. The fact is there’s alternatives.”

Dr. Lawrence Block said his ban proposal was approved during his time on the Board of Health but that it became a citizen’s petition for Town Meeting due to him leaving the committee. The board spoke during the meeting to share its unanimous support. 

“There’s been lots of published data on the ill effects of smoke over the last five to ten years,” Block said. “Wood smoke causes these very small particles…They go down all the way to the very end of the lung, into the air sacks. They’re highly inflammatory, and they cause all sorts of long problems.”

Block shared a study from Washington state that suggested within one year, there were 1,900 hospitalized cases in the state of acute bronchitis, 1,500 non-fatal heart attacks, 400 asthmatic hospital visits, 250 pneumonia cases, and thousands of worsened asthma symptoms due to wood-burning smoke.

“These chemicals…are so small they get into the bloodstream and they’ve been associated with strokes and heart attacks as well,” Block said. “Wood smoke is extremely carcinogenic. It’s been estimated to be 30 times more potent at inducing cancer than cigarette smoke.”

Town Meeting Member Barrie Atkin said she supported the article because of the health effects she has personally experienced.

“There’s a lot of opportunities on the beach and in Swampscott for family get togethers,” Atkin said. “I’ve been exposed to wood fire smoke and have some allergies to it and get sick every time I’m near a bonfire.”

While the article failed, Block said he took the opposition to the article similar to when his cardiology patients would not take his advice, noting he wanted to ensure the public was informed.

“I never minded that. I always respected their opinion as long as I felt that they were making an informed decision,” Block said.