Medford, MA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 58-2, in the offenses chapter's article on firearms and fires, makes it unlawful to fire a cannon, gun, fowling-piece, air rifle or other firearm, or to build a bonfire, anywhere within the city limits. The only exceptions are a military exercise or review authorized by state military authority or the city council, burning in the lawful defense of a person, family or property, action otherwise authorized by law, and trap or target shooting on the grounds of a gun club licensed by the city for that purpose.

The ordinance dates to the city's 1974 Revised Ordinances, chapter 14, section 2, and has not been amended since. Where open burning is authorized under state law, Section 42-80 ties the fee to Appendix A of the Revised Ordinances, and the fee schedule lists a $50.00 charge for permits issued under M.G.L.A. c. 48, the state open burning statute, as well as a separate $50.00 charge for permits under M.G.L.A. c. 148 covering bonfires; both permits run through the fire prevention code administered by the chief of the bureau of fire prevention under Section 42-77.

Because Section 58-2 bars bonfires outright within the city, in practice residential yard fires and open brush burning fall outside what a state permit alone can authorize inside Medford; the local council-authorization exception is the narrow path for anything beyond the listed exemptions. A separate provision, Section 62-93, sets a flat $300.00 fine for setting a fire in a city park or playground, on top of the general Section 1-13 penalty of up to $300.00 per offense for a Section 58-2 violation.