New Braunfels, TX Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

2 of the 2021 International Fire Code, adopted at City Code Sec. 54-86(b)(d), sets the ground rules for backyard fire pits. A recreational fire cannot be conducted within 10 feet of a structure or combustible material, and anything within that 10-foot zone that could let a fire spread has to be cleared before the fire is lit. Just as important, a fire pit has to sit inside an approved container or barrier: masonry blocks, a purpose-built fire pit, a chiminea, or a custom outdoor masonry fireplace.

Loose recreational fires built outside one of those containers are treated the same as open burning, which the same section prohibits unless the owner first obtains a permit from the Fire Marshal's Office. Fire service personnel retain discretion on the spot: any fire, contained or not, that creates a nuisance or that a firefighter judges unsafe must be extinguished until conditions improve, regardless of setback or container compliance. The rule sits in Article III, Fire Prevention, of Chapter 54, which the city rewrote in full by Ord.

No. 2003-17 and has amended repeatedly since (most recently Ord. No. 2023-76). General code violations of the adopted fire code carry a fine up to $2,000 under Sec. 4, with each day a violation continues after notice treated as a separate offense.