Appleton, WI Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 6-11(a) prohibits building, maintaining, or allowing to be operated any waste burner, refuse burner, trash burner or similar appliance on a controlled premises unless the device is permitted with the approval of both the Inspections Supervisor and the Fire Chief or the Fire Chief's designee. Section 6-11(b) goes further, flatly barring anyone from operating an outside incinerator or burning garbage or leaves anywhere within the City, with no permit path for that specific conduct. This sits inside Chapter 6's fire prevention article, which also gives the Fire Chief inspection and hazard-removal authority: under Section 6-6, if an inspection turns up a fire hazard, the Fire Chief can order it removed within a set time, and if the owner does not comply the City removes it and bills the cost as a special charge on the property's tax roll under Section 12-32.

The rule reaches every occupied premises in the city regardless of Appleton's position across Outagamie, Calumet and Winnebago counties, since it is a citywide fire-code prohibition rather than a county rule. It works alongside Section 6-12's separate permit system for open outdoor fires, fireplaces and cooking fires, which covers recreational burning rather than trash or yard waste disposal.