Somerville, MA Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)

General Laws Chapter 48, Section 13 is the statute that actually governs open burning, including brush and yard-debris burning, in every Massachusetts city and town, Somerville included; the city's own code cross-references it directly in Section 8-3, listing open burning permits as an exception to its tax-scofflaw licensing hold. Under Section 13, no one may set, maintain, or increase a fire in the open air, which covers burning brush, leaves, or land-clearing debris, without a permit from the forest warden or fire chief (or fire commissioner, in a city that has one), and any such permit covers no more than two days from the date it's granted.

If the permit isn't issued in writing, the granting official still has to keep a written record of who received it, the dates it covers, and how it was granted, and that record has to be open to public inspection. , and for a demolition burning specifically (defined as burning debris from tearing down a building), the official can require fire department personnel, paid for by the permit holder, to stay on site until the fire is fully out. A permit can be revoked at any time regardless of these conditions.

The only burning allowed without any permit is a contained cooking fire, set by someone 18 or older, built on sandy or gravelly ground free of vegetation or on a sandy or rocky tidal beach, and enclosed in rocks, metal, or other nonflammable material.