Toms River, NJ Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Chapter 232, Burning, Outdoor, was adopted by the Mayor and Township Council on December 9, 2008 by Ordinance No. 4168-08, repealing and replacing the township's original 1973 open-burning ordinance (former Ch. 232, adopted 11-27-1973 by Ord. No. 1378 as Ch. 90, Art. II of the old code). Section 232-1 makes it unlawful for any person to burn trash, lumber, leaves, straw, brush, trees, or any other combustible material in any street, alley, vacant lot, or on land improved by a building anywhere within the corporate limits of Toms River Township, unless that person has first obtained a legal permit to do so.

The prohibition is written broadly: it reaches both public rights-of-way (streets and alleys) and private property that is vacant or already built upon, so a resident cannot simply burn yard waste or construction debris in a backyard fire pit or empty lot without a permit in hand first. The chapter cross-references two related sets of local rules a Toms River property owner should also check: Chapter 185, Beach Fires, which covers fires on the township's beaches separately, and Chapter 308, Fire Prevention and Protection, the township's broader fire code.

Chapter 442, Solid Waste, is cross-referenced too, tying the burning ban to the township's rules on disposing of combustible refuse. Section 232-2 sets the penalty: anyone convicted of violating any provision of the chapter, including burning without a permit, faces a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 for each violation, with each separate burn treated as its own offense.