Scranton, PA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

City Code Chapter 146, the Air Pollution Control chapter, flatly prohibits open burning at Section 146-6, adopted by Ordinance No. 80-2023 on July 25, 2023. The rule covers two specific acts: conducting a salvage operation by fire and destroying refuse by open burning. Both are unlawful unless the burn falls under the chapter's single exception, a public demonstration involving burning a flag or other item. To use that exception, the person must apply to the Fire Chief on a City-supplied form; there is no application fee, and the Fire Chief must decide the application if it is filed at least two business days before the proposed demonstration date.

A permit, once issued, carries five mandatory terms: an operable fire extinguisher must be present throughout the event, the item burned cannot exceed four feet by six feet, nothing may be burned except directly inside a burn container, the metal or fire-resistant container and any burn remnants must be removed immediately afterward, and the container must sit at least 15 feet from any building or combustible material. The permittee is also personally responsible for any property damage the burn causes and cannot leave the scene until the fire is fully extinguished.

Section 146-4 gives the Fire Chief, as the chapter's enforcement officer, authority to inspect for violations, issue written notices, file reports, and initiate prosecution. Separately, Section 146-5 caps ordinary smoke emissions from fuel-burning equipment or incinerators at Ringelmann Chart shade No. 2, with a brief exception during fire-box cleaning or starting a new fire.