Southampton, NY Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Southampton, NY, 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
- Permit issuer
- Fire Marshal
- Exempt fires
- barbecue pit, small cooking fires
- First offense fine
- up to $250
- Third offense fine
- up to $1,000
- Appeal deadline
- 15 days to Town Board
Summary
In the Town of Southampton outside the villages, any fire kindled outdoors beyond a small cooking fire counts as a "bonfire" and needs a Fire Marshal permit under Town Code § 164-5A(1), part of the Chapter 164 fire-prevention permit system enforced by the Department of Fire Prevention.
A. A permit must be obtained from the Fire Marshal to conduct any of the following operations or to store, handle or use materials that are considered to present an extra or unusual fire hazard to life or property, as follows: (1) Bonfires. All fires conducted outside of a building, except fires kindled for the instruction of personnel in the methods of fighting fires or small fires kindled in or upon the ground or in a barbecue pit, exterior fireplace, cookout device or other similar out-of-doors eating or cooking device.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 164 folds the Town's open-burning rules into its general fire-prevention permit system. Section 164-2A has the Town Board adopt the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and layer on a local permit system "modeled on NFPA 1, 2 and 3" for activities the State Code leaves to local administration. Section 164-5A requires a permit "obtained from the Fire Marshal to conduct any of the following operations or to store, handle or use materials that are considered to present an extra or unusual fire hazard," and subsection (1) defines "Bonfires" as "all fires conducted outside of a building" other than instructional firefighting fires or small cooking fires.
Anything bigger, a beach bonfire, a brush pile, a ceremonial fire, needs a Fire Marshal permit before it is lit. Applications go to the Fire Marshal on Town forms with fees set by Town Board resolution (§ 164-5F, § 164-5O); permits are nontransferable, tied to one location and one permittee, and can be extended only for good cause shown (§ 164-5B, § 164-5C). The Chief Fire Marshal, a Town Board appointee who must be a Town resident with at least 10 years' firefighting service, or any Fire Marshal, enforces the requirement and may summarily abate a fire that presents an immediate hazard (§ 164-4B, § 164-4H). A denial or revocation may be appealed to the Town Board within 15 days under § 164-5N(1).
Violations & Fines
Section 164-6.5 sets Chapter 164's general penalty for burning without the required permit: a first violation carries a fine up to $250, a second offense up to $500, and a third or later offense up to $1,000, or imprisonment up to 15 days, or both, with each day of noncompliance charged as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to have a bonfire in Southampton?
Who issues a Southampton bonfire permit and what does it cost?
What happens if I burn without a permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Southampton
How Southampton compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·New York rules heatmap·Compare Southampton to another location·View the New York fire regulations overview
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Outdoor Burning in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Suffolk County handle outdoor burning.