Pitt County, NC Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Pitt County, NC, 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
- Governing section
- Fire Prevention Ordinance § 17
- Requires
- a permit for grass, field, or woods fires
- Fire must be
- constantly attended until extinguished
- State tie-in
- no G.S. 113-60.24 permit is a violation
- Appeal window
- 10 days, in writing, to Emergency Services
- Adopted
- June 19, 1995
Summary
Pitt County requires a permit before anyone kindles a grass, field, woods, or wind row fire, per Section 17 of the county's Fire Prevention Ordinance. Once a permit issues, a competent person must attend the fire until it's fully out. The rule folds in the state's own Forest Resources permit system, so lacking a required state burn permit is itself a county violation.
No person shall kindle or maintain any grass or field fire or woods fire or wind row fire without a permit. When a permit is obtained to do the burning the fire shall be constantly attended by a competent person until such fire is extinguished. ... Open burning which requires a permit from the Division of Forest Resources under G. S. 113-60.24 is allowed without a permit from the County. Open burning which is exempted from the necessity of obtaining a permit from the Division of Forest Resources under G. S. 113-60.31 is allowed by the County with a permit. If a person does not have a permit as required by G. S. 113-60.24 from the Division of Forest Resources, this person will be in violation of this Ordinance.
Full Breakdown
Section 17 of the Pitt County Fire Prevention Ordinance, adopted June 19, 1995 and enforced by the county's Emergency Services Office, sets the baseline rule: no one may kindle or maintain a grass fire, field fire, woods fire, or wind row fire without a permit, and once a permit is issued the fire must stay constantly attended by a competent person until it is fully extinguished. The ordinance layers county authority directly onto the state's Division of Forest Resources permit system. S. S. 31 is allowed by the County, but only with a county permit.
S. 24 is automatically in violation of the county ordinance too, so the state and county requirements are enforced as one package rather than two independent tracks. Section 18 separately requires an Office of Emergency Services permit to operate an incinerator, and every incinerator must meet the requirements of the Air Pollution Control District having jurisdiction and comply with NFPA 82. Section 22 empowers qualified Emergency Services employees to issue civil citations for violations of the North Carolina State Fire Prevention Code, and Section 23 leaves the Board of Commissioners to set the actual civil penalty amounts.
Violations & Fines
A citation for burning without the required permit is issued by the Emergency Services Office under Section 22; the Board of Commissioners sets the civil penalty amount under Section 23. An owner or occupant may appeal a citation in writing to the Emergency Services Office and the Clerk to the Board within ten days, or it becomes final, and failing to comply with a resulting order can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor under Section 21.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to burn brush on my property in Pitt County?
Does Pitt County require its own permit if I already have a state forestry burn permit?
What happens if I burn without the required state permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pitt County
How Pitt County compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Pitt County to another location·View the North Carolina fire regulations overview
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