Burns from backyard fires are rarely caused by flames. In Abbotsford they come from ash that looks cold the next morning and is still hot underneath. Wood fire pits are not permitted anywhere in the city at any time of year, so propane is the legal option. Put nothing on a burn except cool water.
What is actually allowed here, and why October matters
Start with the rules, because they are stricter than most people assume. Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service does not permit backyard fire pits, bonfires, burn barrels or recreational wood fires anywhere in the city at any time of the year, and fines run to $500 per occurrence. Open burning is never permitted in urban areas at all. What is allowed is outdoor cooking and heating on propane, natural gas, electricity or charcoal appliances, and, on qualifying rural properties only, permitted burning of dry agricultural vegetation during the fall season that runs from October 1 to November 30. Check the current rules and your own address with the city before you light anything.
That is why October matters for pets. On the rural acreages the permitted burn piles go up through October and November, and across the rest of the city the propane tables and patio heaters come out as the evenings cool. Both put heat at ground level in a yard a dog has had to themselves all summer.
Where there is a permitted fire, it leaves three things behind: heat at nose height, a surround that stays hot, and a bed of ash that nobody thinks about again. The same is true of a charcoal appliance, and of any fire someone has lit against the rules.
The ash is the part that causes the injuries. A fire left overnight can still have embers in the base twenty-four hours later, buried under a grey layer that looks completely spent. A dog trotting across it, or digging in it because something smells interesting, gets deep pad burns before they can react, and pads are slow and painful to heal.
Paw burns, and why they look mild at first
A pad burn often looks like almost nothing on the evening it happens. The damage declares itself over the following day or two as the tissue dies back, and what started as a pink patch becomes a raw, weeping area with the surface peeling away.
What to look for:
- Limping, or holding a paw up, that starts after time in the yard.
- Licking or chewing at one or more feet, sometimes obsessively.
- Pads that look pale, red, waxy or shiny, or that have a flap of surface coming away.
- Blisters, or a pad that feels unusually soft or tacky.
- Reluctance to walk on hard surfaces, or walking as if on eggshells.
- A smell of singed hair, or hair curled and shortened on the legs and belly.
Burns on multiple feet are common because an animal who steps on something hot keeps moving across it. A dog who is limping on more than one leg after being in the yard is worth a call.
Because the injury worsens for a couple of days, a pad burn that seems minor on Saturday can be a genuinely painful problem by Monday. That is the main reason to come in early rather than wait and watch.
What to do in the first few minutes
- Put out any flame or smouldering fur immediately. Douse it with water, or smother it with a blanket or a coat if water is not to hand.
- Get them away from the heat source.
- Run cool water over the area for 10 to 20 minutes. Cool, not icy, and stop sooner if the animal starts to get cold. A gentle hose or a shower on low is ideal for feet.
- Do not use ice. It damages burned tissue further.
- Put nothing on it. No butter, no oil, no ointment, no cream, no spray, nothing from your own cabinet, nothing meant for people. Products on a burn trap heat, make the area harder to assess, and get licked off.
- Do not break blisters or peel away loose surface tissue.
- Leave it uncovered and stop them licking it.
- If the face or eyes were involved, flush the eyes gently with lukewarm water or sterile saline for a few minutes if your pet will allow it, do not rub, and keep them from pawing at the face. Facial and airway burns need looking at the same day.
- Phone us before you set off. A veterinarian is not on duty for every hour we are open, so that call lets us tell you whether to come here or go straight to an open emergency hospital. Burns hurt a great deal, and a painful animal may bite even when they never would otherwise.
Come in through our urgent care. Where burns are deep or extensive our pet diagnostics team checks what else is going on, because an animal who has been in a fire may also have inhaled smoke, and that is a separate problem from the skin. Our medical services team handles the bandage changes, which pad injuries often need over a period of weeks.
We are open 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday and 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Sunday. Fires happen in the evening and the ash does its damage the next morning, so the awkward windows are after we close and before we open. In either, go to the nearest open emergency hospital and telephone them as you set off rather than holding a burn overnight.
Smoke, which is the invisible half
A pet who has been close to a smoky fire, particularly in a confined yard on a still evening, can inhale enough to irritate the airway. Birds are extremely sensitive to smoke of any kind, and cats often show it sooner than dogs, and birds are extremely sensitive to smoke of any kind.
The signs are coughing, noisy or laboured breathing, open-mouth breathing in a cat, soot around the nose or mouth, red or watering eyes, and a pet who is simply quiet and off. As with other inhalation injuries, breathing problems can appear or worsen some hours after the exposure rather than during it, so a pet who seemed fine by the fire and is breathing oddly at bedtime needs seeing that night.
Burning yard waste produces more smoke than clean dry wood, and burning anything painted, varnished or plastic produces smoke that is worse again. That is a good reason to keep the pile to clean woody material only, which is also what a city burn permit restricts you to in the first place.
Setting the yard up so none of this happens
- Douse the ash, properly. Water until it stops steaming and hissing, then stir it and water it again, and keep going until the ash is cold to the back of your hand. Do not rely on it looking grey, and do not rely on a lid.
- Never bury embers in soil or cover them with sand and consider them dealt with. That insulates them and keeps them hot for longer.
- Assume the fire ring is hot for a day. Steel rings and stacked stone hold heat long after the flames are out, and a curious nose finds them at exactly the wrong height.
- Fence it or shut the dog out of that part of the yard for the evening and the following morning. This is the single most effective step.
- Keep food off the fire area. Meat juices and drippings in the ash are precisely why dogs dig there the next day.
- No accelerants, ever, and never with animals in the yard. Flare-ups cause facial and eye burns and singed whiskers.
- Watch the sparks on a windy evening, and keep long-coated dogs well back.
- Mind the chairs and blankets that end up ringed around a pit; a dog settling on a blanket close to the heat can get a contact burn through it.
- Check what you are allowed to light. Wood fire pits and recreational fires are not permitted anywhere in Abbotsford, and rural agricultural burning needs a city permit and a suitable venting index. Sticking to a propane or gas appliance keeps you onside and protects the air your pets breathe.
Our guide to hot pavement and paw pad burns covers how a burned pad is assessed and bandaged in more detail, and everything in it applies to an ash burn as well.
Frequently asked questions
My dog walked across yesterday’s fire pit ash and is limping. How urgent is it?
Phone us today. Pad burns from ash are a recognized autumn hazard and they almost always look better on day one than they do on day three, because burned tissue dies back over a couple of days. Early pain relief and proper bandaging make a real difference to how long the healing takes.
How long does ash stay hot enough to burn?
Longer than almost anyone expects. Embers can survive buried in a bed of ash for twenty-four hours or more, especially in a deep pit or a large pile, and a grey surface tells you nothing about what is underneath. The only reliable way to make it safe is water, stirred through and repeated until the ash is cold to the back of your hand.
Should I put anything on the burn to protect it?
Only cool water, and then nothing. No butter, oil, ointment, cream, honey or spray, and nothing from your own cabinet. Anything applied holds heat in, makes the burn harder for us to judge, and ends up being licked off. Cool water, a clean damp cloth, and a phone call.
My cat was lying near the fire and now has singed whiskers. Does that matter?
Get them checked. Singed whiskers and curled hair mean the face was close to real heat, so we would want to look at the eyes, the nose and the inside of the mouth, and to think about whether smoke was inhaled. Cats are also good at hiding discomfort, so the absence of complaint is not reassurance.
Can I use a fire pit at all with a dog in the yard?
Not a wood one. Backyard fire pits and recreational wood fires are not permitted anywhere in Abbotsford at any time of year, so the question for most households is a propane fire table instead. With one of those, or with a permitted rural burn pile, keep the dog out of that part of the yard while it is lit and until everything has cooled, keep food away from it, and never use accelerants. That removes the parts of the evening that cause injuries.
What about the smell of smoke on my dog’s coat afterwards?
The smell itself is harmless. What matters is whether they were close enough to inhale much, so watch the breathing that evening and overnight. Coughing, fast or effortful breathing, or a pet who will not settle means come in rather than wait, because airway irritation can build for some hours after the exposure.
Are propane fire tables safer than a wood fire?
Safer, and they are the option the city actually allows. There is still a flame and a hot surround at dog height, so a nose or a tail can still be burned while it is running. What they avoid is the ash bed and most of the smoke, which removes the delayed paw-burn problem and the inhalation one entirely. The trade is a gas line and a hose that some pets will chew, so keep that out of reach.
Speak to the team at Glenn Mountain Animal Hospital
If your dog or cat has walked on hot ash, been burned, or is breathing oddly after an evening near a fire, phone us before you set off so we can tell you whether to come here or go straight to an emergency hospital. Outside our hours, go to the nearest open emergency hospital and have a passenger call ahead.
Published by the team at Glenn Mountain Animal Hospital.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for an in-person veterinary examination or advice about your individual pet. If you have an urgent concern about your pet, contact Glenn Mountain Animal Hospital or your nearest emergency veterinary hospital right away.
Glenn Mountain Animal Hospital
#106-2596 McMillan Road, Abbotsford, BC V3G 1C4
Phone: (604) 852-3030
Email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM; Sunday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM