Meriden, CT Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Meriden Code § 107-17A prohibits kindling or maintaining any bonfire, or authorizing one to be kindled or maintained, anywhere in the City unless a written permit has first been secured from the Fire Marshal, and no such fire may be kindled or maintained except in accordance with the terms and conditions of that permit. Subsection B, added May 17, 2010, fills in what those permit terms look like: the Fire Marshal sets the term and conditions, only nonprocessed wood may be burned, and the permit may be revoked at any time, in the Fire Marshal's sole discretion, for unsafe operation, burning of prohibited material, or creating a smoke nuisance.

Such permits are limited to residential home use only, and the section states that nothing in it is meant to affect any state regulation on open burning. The permit requirement in Chapter 107 sits within Meriden's broader fire-prevention scheme: § 107-11 similarly requires a Fire Marshal permit before storing or transporting flammable liquids that fall under state fire-safety regulation, and § 107-14 fixes all annual Fire Marshal permits, including open-burning permits, to expire on January 31 of each year regardless of issue date. Appeals from a Fire Marshal's refusal to issue a permit go to the City Council under § 107-13, which requires written notice to the Town and City Clerk within one week of being notified of the denial; the Fire Marshal's action only becomes invalid if the Council disapproves it. The Fire Marshal keeps a record book of every permit, license, order, complaint and inspection under § 107-15 and reports monthly to the Council.