Madison, WI Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Sec. 3 with Madison's own rule for outdoor fireplaces and pits: bowls or pits designed to hold or burn wood. No burning license is required if every listed condition is met: the fireplace has a bowl with supports for clearance from combustibles; the pit or fireplace has an enclosure, heavy screen or spark arrestor; it is not used within 15 feet of a building or lot line; it sits on a stable level surface and never on a combustible deck, porch or patio; only clean, dry wood is burned (no trash, yard waste or construction material); a propane unit burns only propane; smoke from the device does not create a nuisance; a fire extinguisher, garden hose or other fire-control method is kept on hand; a responsible adult supervises at all times and the fire is fully extinguished before it is left unattended; and manufactured units follow the manufacturer's assembly, safety and operating instructions.

The same subsection layers on a citywide air-quality trigger shared with the rest of Sec. 307: fireplaces and pits cannot be operated when the Wisconsin DNR rates air quality as anything other than good or moderate. This fire-pit allowance sits inside the broader Sec. 307 Open Burning ordinance, which otherwise requires a license from the Fire Chief for burning generally and bans burning rubbish, leaves and construction waste outright.