A message from the Fire Chief, and EMS demonstration on COVID-19 response

The Wellfleet Fire, Police, and town officials are keeping track of the constant updates on the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Department of Public Health is keeping us informed of any changes that occur. 

For present-day information on the Coronavirus:

Massachusetts Covid-19 Information

OPEN BURNING Winter & Spring

Open burning season begins on January 15th and continues until 4:00 PM on May 1st.

Anyone wishing to burn brush in Wellfleet must obtain a permit in advance from the Wellfleet Fire Department. The fee for the permit is $15 and must be paid for with a check or exact change in cash. 

Burning may be done between 10 AM and 4 PM, weather permitting. 

You must call the Fire Department at 508-349-0333 between 9:30 and 11:00 AM on each day you want to burn.

This number will connect you to an automated line which will tell you if burning is allowed that day.  Calls for permission to burn must be made to this phone number only. If conditions change during the day, the Fire Department reserves the right to call and order that all fires be extinguished.

Complete regulations for open burning are attached to the open burning permit.  Please read the regulations carefully.  Violation of the regulations will void the permit, and may result in revocation of your permit by any fire department official. 

Please bring either the exact amount in cash, or a check made out to the Town of Wellfleet. Open burning permit applications are available in person at the Fire Department. 

Call the Fire Department at 508-349-3754 if you need any additional information.

Open Burn Permit:

Open Burn Permit

Safety tips for open burning: 

Massachusetts open burning information

Beach fires will not be allowed during the 2021 off-season.

Fire Department Permit Fee Schedule

 New fees for permits issued by the Fire Department were approved by the Board of Selectmen following a public hearing on June 26, 2012.

The new fees are effective as of July 1, 2012.

Better insurance rating for Wellfleet

Since the installation of the new municipal water system, the Wellfleet Fire Department has been working to improve the fire insurance rating for those areas of Town served by the water system.  Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) rates a community on the effectiveness of its fire protection under their Public Protection Classification Program.  For many years, Wellfleet has been rated as an ISO Class 9, which recognizes a creditable fire department and dispatch center, but no creditable water supply.

With assistance from other Town departments and neighboring fire departments, and from Environmental Partners Group and Whitewater (the Town’s water system designer and operator), we’ve provided ISO with hundreds of pages of information relating to Fire Department equipment and operations, emergency call handling, the water supply system, and the characteristics of our community.  From this data, ISO has analyzed the effectiveness of our fire protection, and the good news is that areas served by the water system will now be rated as a Class 4.  This classification becomes effective on June 1, 2012, and will apply to properties within 5 miles of the fire station and within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant.  The rest of the Town will remain at a Class 9, except for a few isolated properties which are more than 5 miles from a fire station. Neither the Fire Department nor the Town sets insurance rates, and insurance companies make their own decisions about how to use ISO ratings in setting insurance rates.

The Fire Department is pleased to have been successful in incorporating the new municipal water system and hydrants into our mission to protect lives and property, and to have achieved the goal of a better insurance rating that the new water system made possible. 

SMOKE ALARM REGULATIONS

EFFECTIVE ON THE SALE OF EXISTING HOMES

On April 5, 2010, changes in the state’s smoke alarm regulations took effect upon the sale or transfer of existing one- and two-family homes.

Enforcement of the new regulations will take place when a home is sold or transferred. Homeowners selling their homes after April 5, 2010 will have to meet these new requirements.

The required smoke and carbon monoxide alarms depend on when a home was built or altered.

Real estate agents have been informed of these new requirements.  If you are selling your home and you have questions about the regulations, please contact the Fire Department well in advance of your closing date so we can help you.