Chesterfield County, VA Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)
Fire pit rules in Chesterfield County, VA, also called outdoor burning, recreational fire, or open flame ordinances, cover fuel types, clearances, and when burning is allowed.
Key Facts
- Recreational campfires
- exempt from open-burn permit
- Attendance duty
- constant, competent attendant required
- Fire marshal authority
- can ban all burning in hazardous weather
- Violation penalty
- Class 1 misdemeanor, up to $2,500/12 mo
- Enforcing agency
- Chesterfield Fire & EMS Fire Marshal
Summary
Chesterfield exempts campfires, ceremonial fires and other blazes used solely for recreational purposes from its open-burning permit requirement under Fire Prevention Code Sec. 307.2.1(B). No permit or fee applies, but every fire must stay constantly attended with extinguishing equipment on hand, and the fire marshal can shut down all burning, exemption included, when conditions turn hazardous.
The following activities are exempted from the above prohibitions to the extent covered by the State Air Pollution Control Board's Regulations for the Control and Abatement of Air Pollution: ... B.Open burning for camp fires or other fires that are used solely for recreational purposes, for ceremonial occasions, for outdoor noncommercial preparation of food, and for warming of outdoor workers; ... G.Permitted fires shall be constantly attended by a competent person until they are extinguished. The attendee shall have fire extinguishing equipment readily available for use as deemed necessary by the fire official. ... I.The fire marshal or his designee may prohibit all open burning with the exception of those exemptions listed in 307.2.1, when he determines that atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fires hazardous.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 10-3 of the county code adopts the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code with Chesterfield-specific amendments, including its own open-burning article. Sec. 2(G)). Sec. 1 then lists exemptions from those prohibitions, including subsection B: fires used solely for recreational purposes, ceremonial occasions, outdoor noncommercial food preparation, and warming outdoor workers. That puts a backyard fire pit or campfire in a different category from the permit-and-fee system that governs tree-trimming disposal (30-day free permit) and land-clearing burns (90-day, $400 permit) under Sec. 2. Even so, Sec.
2(H) forces an immediate halt to burning. Violations of the open-burning article, unattended fires, ignoring a fire marshal's prohibition, or burning outside the exemptions, are enforced under Sec. 10-6 as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Violations & Fines
Violating the open-burning ordinance, including running an unattended fire or refusing to douse a blaze after the fire marshal declares hazardous conditions, is a Class 1 misdemeanor under Sec. 10-6: a fine up to $2,500.00, up to 12 months in jail, or both. Each day a violation continues is a separate offense, and the fire and EMS department may pursue any other lawful remedy to stop it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit for a backyard fire pit in Chesterfield County?
Can the county stop me from having a fire even though it's exempt?
Does someone have to watch a recreational fire the whole time?
What happens if I violate the open-burning ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chesterfield County
How Chesterfield County compares: Cities with the Strictest Fire Pit Rules·Compare Chesterfield County to another location·View the Virginia fire regulations overview
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