8 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Chatham County, Georgia.
Verified from official government sources
Chatham County Code Sec. 21-306 (amended 2020) lets residents in or within a mile of a city or subdivision use fire pits less than 48 inches in diameter for recreation, provided the fire is safely contained by a structure able to hold it and burns only the resident's own materials.
Chatham County Code Sec. 21-306(2)(a)
Fire pits less than 48 inches in diameter, used solely for personal enjoyment and recreation when such a fire is contained safely by a structure sufficient enough to hold the fire therein.
Georgia's 2015-2018 fireworks law legalized consumer fireworks statewide and preempts local bans, so Chatham County's old prohibition (Code Sec. 21-201) is superseded. Adults may use consumer fireworks any day 10 a.m. to midnight, later around July 3-4, Dec 31 and Jan 1. The county may enforce noise limits, not prohibit.
Chatham County Code Sec. 21-502 requires premises be kept clear of overgrown grass or weeds eighteen (18) inches or more in height. For disposal, Sec. 21-306 lets residents burn their own yard and storm debris for weed, pest and disease abatement, but only under the open-burning exceptions near cities.
Chatham County Code Sec. 21-502(1)(d)
Any overgrown grass or weeds of a height of eighteen (18) inches or more or any other unkempt vegetation in any yard, front, side or rear.
Chatham County Code Sec. 21-306 prohibits open burning within one mile of any city boundary or platted residential subdivision. Residents inside that zone may still burn only their own leaves, storm debris, or recreational and cooking fires. Chatham is NOT among Georgia's 54-county May-September summer burn ban counties.
Chatham County Code Sec. 21-306(2)
No person, firm or corporation shall cause, suffer or allow to permit open burning as defined herein within one mile of the boundary of any municipal corporation nor any residential subdivision platted by the County or any municipality located within the County.
Chatham County sets no wildfire-hazard-zone ordinance, and Georgia has no California-style fire-severity zone maps or defensible-space mandate. This coastal lowcountry county manages wildland fire through the Georgia Forestry Commission, and Chatham is excluded from Georgia's 54-county May-September summer open-burning ban.
There is no special Chatham County smoke-alarm ordinance; the statewide rule (O.C.G.A. Sec. 25-2-40) applies. Every dwelling must have an approved smoke detector installed on each story, including basements. New homes are hard-wired under the adopted codes; pre-1987 homes need at least a working battery detector.
Chatham County Code Sec. 21-306 allows backyard fires for recreational purposes or cooking food for immediate human consumption as an exception to the open-burning ban, even within a mile of a city or subdivision, using only the resident's own materials in a safely contained fire.
Chatham County Code Sec. 21-306(2)(e)
For recreational purposes or cooking food for immediate human consumption.
Chatham County has no special propane ordinance; storage and use of LP-gas follow Georgia's adopted International Fire Code (2018) and the Safety Fire Commissioner's LP-gas rules (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 120-3-16). Standard 20-pound barbecue grill cylinders are exempt from permits when used per the manufacturer.
1 cities in Chatham County have their own fire regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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