Pawtucket, RI Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Pawtucket, RI, also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance, set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Key Facts
- Rule
- No outdoor fires except for cooking
- Applies to
- Private and public land citywide
- Enforced by
- Fire Division, Dept. of Public Safety
- Penalty
- $25 to $500 per offense (§ 1-20)
- Continuing violation
- Each day is a separate offense
- Last amended
- June 12, 1997, Ch. No. 2459
Summary
Pawtucket bans kindling or maintaining any fire on private or public land, with one narrow exception: fires kindled and maintained solely for outdoor cooking. The rule, last amended in 1997, covers open burning citywide with no seasonal or permit carve-out.
No person shall kindle or maintain any fire or authorize any fire to be kindled or maintained on any private land or public land, unless said fire is kindled and maintained solely for the purpose of outdoor cooking.
Full Breakdown
Section 210-10, first adopted in 1967 and amended in 1968 and again on June 12, 1997 by Ordinance No. 2459, is a near-total ban rather than a permit scheme: no person may kindle or maintain, or authorize anyone to kindle or maintain, a fire on any private or public land in the city, unless the fire is kindled and maintained solely for outdoor cooking. There is no separate exception for brush, leaves, or debris burning, and no seasonal window is carved out. The chapter's other fire-safety provisions sit around it: § 210-5 separately bans burning wrecked or discarded automobiles, parts or junk, and § 210-9 requires lumberyards to clear sawdust and debris at least monthly. Appeals related to Fire Prevention Code determinations, such as a permit denial by the Fire Division, go to the State Board of Appeals within 30 days under § 210-11, though § 210-10's outdoor cooking exception requires no permit application in the first place.
Violations & Fines
Section 210-10 does not set its own fine, so a violation is punished under the Code's general penalty in § 1-20: a minimum of $25 and a maximum of $500 per offense, with each day a prohibited fire continues to burn or recur treated as a separate offense. The Fire Division, part of the Department of Public Safety, enforces fire-related provisions of the Code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have a bonfire in my Pawtucket backyard?
Can I burn yard waste or leaves in Pawtucket?
Is a cooking fire or grill allowed?
What is the penalty for illegal open burning in Pawtucket?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pawtucket
How Pawtucket compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Pawtucket to another location·View the Rhode Island fire regulations overview
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Outdoor Burning in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle outdoor burning.