Fire Regulations in Chattanooga, TN (2026)
4 verified fire regulations for Chattanooga, Tennessee, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Fire Pits & Backyard Fires
Chattanooga exempts small cooking, ceremonial, and recreational fires, including backyard fire pits, from its open-burning permit requirement, but caps them at 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet high and requires clean fuel only.
Chattanooga Recreational Fire Pit Rules
Light RestrictionsChattanooga City Code § 4-41, Rule 6.4(1)
Fires used only for cooking of food or for ceremonial or recreational purposes (recreational fires are limited in size to three (3) feet in diameter and two (2) feet high), including barbecues and outdoor fireplaces, but only if such fires are fueled with clean fuel for that particular purpose (clean seasoned wood, gas, charcoal, wood pellets, or fire logs).
Fireworks
Chattanooga City Code § 25-79(a)(10) makes it unlawful to set off fireworks after 11:30 p.m. in residential zones outside the Downtown Amplified Music District. The curfew relaxes on Juneteenth, July 4th and New Year's Eve, when fireworks stay legal until 12:30 a.m. and then are barred again until 8:00 a.m.
Chattanooga Fireworks Curfew Hours
Some RestrictionsChattanooga City Code § 25-79(a)(10)
(10)Fireworks. It shall be unlawful to set off fireworks after the hour of 11:30 p.m., except on Juneteenth, July 4 th , and New Year's Eve when the hours prohibited shall be 12:30 a.m. until 8:00 a.m.
Outdoor Burning
Chattanooga bans open burning citywide except under a paid Rule 6.3 permit, a narrow Rule 6.4 exemption, or Rule 6.5 written approval: enforced jointly by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Board under Chapter 4 of the city code.
Chattanooga Open Burning Ban
Significant RestrictionsChattanooga City Code § 4-41, Rule 6.1
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit open burning except as provided in Rule 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5. No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit controlled burning except as provided in Rule 6.6. No person shall fail or refuse to take all reasonable and necessary steps and precautions to prevent open or controlled burning upon any premises owned, occupied or under the control of such pe...
Smoke Detectors
Chattanooga's property maintenance code mandates smoke alarms outside sleeping areas, in every bedroom and on every story of a dwelling, hardwired with battery backup and interconnected when more than one is required.
Chattanooga Smoke Alarm Requirements
Some RestrictionsChattanooga City Code § 21-197(c)
(c) Smoke alarms. Single- or multiple-station smoke alarms shall be installed and maintained in dwellings at each of the following locations: (1) On the ceiling or wall outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms. (2) In each room used for sleeping purposes. (3) In each story within a dwelling unit, including basements and cellars but not including crawl spaces ...
Looking for Hamilton County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Chattanooga city rules.
Fire Regulations in Hamilton County →