Council hears plea for the ban of wood burning boilers
By DEAN WELLS dwells@timesobserver.comIf Bill and Peggy Morgan have their way, wood burning boilers would be banned in the city of Warren.
As it is, there is no ordinance preventing homeowners in the city from installing wood burning boilers.
City Council would like to learn more about the heating units before making any decision on any new ordinance regulating wood burning boilers in the city.
The Morgans addressed council during Monday night's regular meeting, expressing concern over a wood burning boiler installed outside a residence on Popular St. within the last two years. According to the Morgans, the unit fills their neighborhood with noxious smoke and is a health hazard.
"This is nothing like a wood burning fireplace," Bill Morgan told council. "I know it's on when my eyes are smarting and my throat is burning."
Peggy Morgan told council she was shocked by the "toxicity" of the wood burning boiler and began researching the units once the smoke began entering the Morgans' home.
"This is a new technology," Morgan said. "It's not designed for areas where there is any population. It's essentially designed for farms. Regulations normally won't allow them placed within 500 feet of a dwelling. The entire state of Washington has banned them. They are very, very dangerous. I was shocked when I found out how dangerous they were."
Peggy Morgan cautioned council that if the city didn't put an ordinance in place, regulating wood burning boilers, they should expect other units to be installed within city limits.
"They are really bad news bears we are dealing with here," Morgan said. "They are really designed for country living. It is something much more than we've ever experienced from neighborhood wood stoves or fireplaces. A whole state wouldn't ban these if this was just a fireplace."
Council member Maurice Cashman said he's been in the Morgans' neighborhood when the boiler was operating. "It's terrible," he said. "In my view, it really is a health hazard. We are going through an energy crisis in this country that's probably not going to end. If more and more people start turning to wood burning boilers, this is going to get worse. I'd hate for us to end up like Bejing. It's a health hazard. I'd like to see something done."
Cashman asked the city's building code officer Alan Gustafson to look into the situation to see if there were any technological solutions available that would help curtail smoke emitted by wood burning boilers located inside the city limits.
City manager Jim Nelles said he believed Cashman had a valid concern over regulating wood burning boilers within the city. "This could become an issue down the road with the energy crisis," he said. "We need to look into it, because we could see a lot more in the city. I wasn't here when there were coal furnaces in the city, but I'm sure it was terrible back then."
