Noblesville, IN Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 92.150, the lead section of the Fire Prevention Code's Controlled Burning subchapter adopted by Ord. 50-10-09 on October 27, 2009, states flatly that no person within the city shall burn rubbish, trash, garbage, yard waste, leaves, construction materials, tree limbs, shrubbery trimmings, or dangerous materials at any time within the city limits. The prohibition applies to every property in Noblesville regardless of zoning and covers the debris categories homeowners and contractors most often want to burn rather than haul away. The only relief comes from the narrower carve-outs that follow in the same subchapter: § 92.151 lists specific exceptions the Fire Chief may approve, such as recreational or cooking fires, Twelfth Night ceremonies, and scouting activities, § 92.152 sets separate conditions for non-residential incinerator burning, and § 92.153 requires an open burn permit for any approved recreational open burning.

Absent one of those approved exceptions, burning any of the listed materials, even on a private lot, is a violation on its face; the statute does not require proof of smoke, odor, or nuisance to the neighbors, only that the burning happened within city limits. The Noblesville Fire Department, through the Fire Chief or a designee, is the enforcing agency, and the prohibition sits alongside the separate solid waste rules in Chapter 91 governing how such materials must instead be collected or disposed of.