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

Howell Township Code § 204-32 lists the site requirements every licensed mobile home park must meet. Subsection P makes the park owner responsible for writing a set of rules into the park regulations, and two of them cover fire. Item (3) limits outside cooking to an approved cooking grill, hibachi or portable barbecue, bars cooking in open pits and bars permanent barbecues, with the reason printed in the text: the minimal distance between mobile homes or trailers. Item (4), amended 6-19-2012 by Ord. No. O-12-12, prohibits open fires and campfires under any and all circumstances and also prohibits outdoor metal fire pits. The wording has no exception for size, fuel or supervision.

The distance problem is spelled out in § 204-32D: units need at least 30 feet of clearance side to side and end to end, and 15 feet for spaces existing and licensed before December 11, 1961. The Township Council states that less clearance would constitute a fire and health hazard to the occupants. Neighboring items require a smoke detector in the bedroom hallway, a five-pound dry chemical ABC fire extinguisher in every unit, and a ban on unvented portable kerosene heaters.

Enforcement runs through the license. The Code Enforcement Officer, Engineer, Construction Official and Health Officer or their authorized agents inspect at least four times a year (§ 204-29), the licensee and attendant in charge must see that the article is complied with and report violations (§ 204-35B), and § 204-5D creates a Mobile Home Compliance Officer in the Police Department.

This page covers mobile home parks only. Elsewhere in Howell Township, Chapter 86 prohibits open burning of garbage, rubbish, trade waste, fallen leaves, plant life and buildings, except for fire-training exercises and burns permitted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the Bureau of Fire Prevention, Code Enforcement Office and Police Department enforce it. On farms running on-farm direct marketing, § 244-6B(5) requires Howell Township Fire Bureau approval for stand-alone and mobile fire pits.