New Britain, CT Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Sec. 8-36 makes open burning without a permit unlawful citywide, except for outdoor wood-burning stoves, and channels every other burn through the city's open burning official, who is certified under Connecticut General Statutes § 22a-174 and charges a $25 permit fee under Sec. 8-36(b). Residential open burning is allowed only for narrow purposes listed in Sec. 8-36(i): fire training exercises, insect or disease control, agricultural burning on Assessor-designated farmland, clearing storm debris, or wildlife habitat management, and the applicant must prove residency or the qualifying purpose.

Sec. 8-36(j) confines any approved burn to the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with no visible embers, flame or smoke allowed after 5:00 p.m., and to days that are sunny or partly sunny with wind of five to fifteen miles per hour; brush burning is limited to residential properties with one or two units. Sec. 8-36(k) requires the applicant to notify the open burning official 24 hours before ignition, keep a charged hose or extinguisher on hand, and site the burn at least 25 feet from any property line or building with no other combustible material within 20 feet; no single brush pile may exceed 10 feet by 10 feet by 3 feet.

Sec. 8-36(o) flatly bans burning weeds, leaves, garbage, plastics, rubber or demolition waste under any circumstances, and bans burning on commercial, industrial or vacant properties outright. The open burning official may revoke a permit in writing for any violation, and can ban all outdoor fires citywide during declared extreme fire danger or an air pollution emergency under Sec. 8-36(f).