Bloomfield, NJ Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Section 640-2.1 treats a backyard fire for entertainment as a recreational fire, but only inside hard limits. A recreational fire is defined as an outdoor fire contained in an approved UL container for entertainment, and a chiminea, outdoor fireplace or outdoor fire pit counts as an approved container for open burning as defined by manufacturers. Fires in approved containers are allowed without a permit.

The size and placement limits are specific. The fire cannot exceed a three-foot diameter and two-foot height, the device must be noncombustible or otherwise UL-compliant, every opening must be covered with wire mesh or other screening that stops sparks and embers, and the fire must be kept in the rear yard at least 15 feet from any structure or combustible exterior wall. Someone must attend it constantly until it is extinguished. Porches, decks, balconies, any other portion of a building, any room or space, and spots under a building overhang are all barred.

The fuel rule is just as narrow. Only firewood qualifies, defined as trunks and branches of trees and bushes, and the definition includes commercially manufactured, UL-approved fire logs. Leaves, needles, vines and brush smaller than two inches in diameter are not firewood. Yard waste, treated or untreated lumber, garbage and paper products are prohibited, although kindling can be used to start a fire.

Neighbors have a remedy built in: the Fire Chief or designee, or the Health Officer or designee, can order any fire or fire pit that unreasonably interferes with the health, safety or welfare of neighboring residents or properties extinguished immediately. The section was added on 12-13-2021 by Ord. No. 21-49, and recreational fires were added to the list of nuisances in § 640-2(A)(10) by the same ordinance. Any code enforcement department within the Township administers the section. Fires in Township parks follow a separate rule, § A680-23, which says no person shall start or maintain a fire except in places provided for such purpose.