New Britain, CT Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Sec. 8-36 treats most outdoor fire as regulated open burning requiring a permit from the city's open burning official, but Sec. 8-36(m) carves out specific exemptions, and the first is for cooking. 'Barbecues or other outdoor fires solely for the cooking of food for human consumption' need no open burning permit, provided the cooking is 'performed in or on a fireplace or an appliance manufactured for such a purpose,' meaning a grill, smoker or fireplace built or sold for cooking, not a bare fire built on the ground or in an improvised container.

The code does not separately address grill placement on balconies or in multifamily buildings; where a grill sits on or near a structure covered by the adopted fire prevention code, the applicable manufactured-appliance clearances in that code, not the open burning article, govern the setup. If the cooking fire strays outside the exemption, such as a loose bonfire used to cook food without any fireplace or manufactured appliance, it becomes unpermitted open burning under Sec. 8-36(c), carrying a $99 fine or up to six months' imprisonment.

The exemption also does not excuse a nuisance: Sec. 8-36(l) still requires that no fire, exempt or not, be allowed to create an 'open burning nuisance' of smoke, soot or odor that endangers neighbors' health or safety, and a responsible adult must attend any fire at all times. The New Britain Police Department enforces the open burning article generally, per Sec. 8-36(d).