Dothan, AL Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

The code does not attach a printed setback distance to this specific exemption the way it does for leaf and limb burning under Sec. 38-32(b), which requires 50 feet from the owner's own buildings and 500 feet from a neighbor's. Instead, Sec. 38-32(g) exempts residential outdoor fireplaces and heating containers outright, with no permit and no advance notification to the fire marshal. That exemption operates against the backdrop of Sec. 38-31, which prohibits open burning generally except as the article specifically permits, so a fire pit still counts as open burning if it is not used as intended.

The fire marshal and any fire prevention officer acting under the fire official's supervision, along with law enforcement officers, can issue municipal court citations for violations under Sec. 38-28. Because Sec. 38-32(g) sits in the same list of exceptions as the cooking-fire exemption in Sec. 38-32(f), a residential fire pit used to cook food is separately covered by that clean-fuel rule; a fire pit used purely for warmth or ambiance relies on subsection (g) alone. Nothing in the printed text limits the exemption to a particular container size or material, unlike the construction-site warming fires in Sec. 38-32(d)(2), which cap the container at 55 gallons and require a 25-foot clearance from structures and power lines.