Perth Amboy, NJ Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 132-3 of the Perth Amboy City Code sits in Chapter 132, Air Pollution, which the City Council adopted to control smoke, cinders, soot, fly ash, gases, fumes, vapors, odors and dust in the City of Perth Amboy, Middlesex County. Section 132-2 defines open burning as any fire wherein the products of combustion are emitted into the open air and are not directed there through a stack or chimney. The definition turns on where the smoke goes, not on the size of the fire.

The ban reaches three separate acts. First, open burning of refuse or plant life. The chapter defines refuse to include garbage, rubbish, yard trimmings, leaves, ashes and street cleanings, and it defines rubbish to include tree branches and yard trimmings. Second, conducting a salvage operation by open burning, meaning any business, trade or industry that salvages or reclaims metals, chemicals, shipping containers and drums. Third, conducting a bonfire, with no size threshold printed in the section.

The one carve-out belongs to the municipality. Bonfires can be conducted by the City of Perth Amboy at City-sponsored events, subject to the International Fire Code, New Jersey Edition (2006), as amended and supplemented from time to time. The section prints no permit path for a private resident, club or business.

Related rules sit nearby. Section 153-1 bars open flames of any kind on the beach. An incinerator is a separate matter under § 132-5: it needs a permit issued through the City Clerk, the annual fee is $25, the permit expires one year after issuance, and operation is barred before 7:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m.

Enforcement runs through the Central Jersey Regional Air Pollution Control Agency, which § 132-2 defines as the Agency. Under § 132-8 the Agency and the Health Officer of the City of Perth Amboy, along with their agents, can inspect premises, and under § 132-10 the Agency can go to Superior Court for an injunction against a continuing violation.