Montgomery, AL Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)
Fire pit rules in Montgomery, AL, also called outdoor burning, recreational fire, or open flame ordinances, cover fuel types, clearances, and when burning is allowed.
Key Facts
- Permit needed?
- No, for a compliant recreational fire
- Allowed fuel
- Charcoal, coal, or firewood only
- Required container
- Steel, metal, or masonry fire receptacle
- Examples given
- Barbeque grill, fire pit, outdoor fireplace
- Loses exemption if burning
- Trash, leaves, paint, plastic, construction debris
Summary
Montgomery lets residents keep a recreational or cooking fire without a burn permit as long as it burns only charcoal, coal, or firewood inside a steel, metal, or masonry container built to hold fire, like a barbeque grill, fire pit, or outdoor fireplace. Burn anything else, trash, leaves, painted wood, and the exemption disappears under § 13-9(d)(1).
(d)Exceptions.(1)Recreational fires. A person shall not be in violation of this section where they start, maintain or keep a fire or open fire which is used for cooking food or for recreational purposes and which burns only charcoal, coal, and/or firewood so long as the fire is started, maintained, and kept in a steel, metal, or masonry container, such as a barbeque grill, fire pit, or outdoor fireplace which is designed for the purpose of containing fire. Any fire which causes the combustion of any other material, including but not limited to, paper, trash, garbage, yard waste, vegetation, leaves, heavy oils, plastic, rubber, paint, construction debris, and other refuse, shall not be exempted by this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 27).
Full Breakdown
Montgomery's open-burning ordinance, § 13-9(b), makes any open fire unlawful without a city fire department burn permit, but § 13-9(d)(1) carves out recreational fires from that requirement entirely. A person isn't in violation if the fire is used for cooking food or for recreational purposes, burns only charcoal, coal, or firewood, defined in the code as hardwood cut and sized for a receptacle meant to hold fire, and is kept inside a steel, metal, or masonry container designed for containing fire; the ordinance names a barbeque grill, fire pit, and outdoor fireplace as examples.
The exemption is narrow: if the fire also burns paper, trash, garbage, yard waste, vegetation, leaves, heavy oils, plastic, rubber, paint, or construction debris, it loses the exemption and becomes an unlawful open fire requiring a permit. The fire chief or designee still issues permits for anything outside this exemption and can set conditions on weather, safety equipment, and distance from combustible buildings or heavily traveled roads under § 13-9(e). 00 or up to six months for a third.
Violations & Fines
Burning anything other than charcoal, coal, or firewood in a fire pit, grill, or outdoor fireplace, or letting the fire spread outside that container, forfeits the recreational-fire exemption and becomes an unpermitted open fire under § 13-9(b). Penalties under § 13-9(c) start at a $100.00 fine or up to ten days in jail for a first offense, rising to $500.00 or six months for a third offense within a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit for a backyard fire pit in Montgomery?
Can I burn yard waste or leaves in my fire pit?
What if my fire pit fire gets out of the container?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Montgomery
How Montgomery compares: Cities with the Strictest Fire Pit Rules·Compare Montgomery to another location·View the Alabama fire regulations overview
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