Jacksonville, NC Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

City Code Sec. 8-79 requires a permit from the fire chief, the fire marshal, or an authorized representative for all fires conducted outside of a building, and conditions any permit on the burning operation complying with all state and federal air pollution authority rules. The section then lists exceptions that do not require a permit: fires kindled to train personnel in firefighting methods, small fires kindled on the ground with provisions to prevent spread or in a barbecue pit, exterior fireplace, cook-out device, or other similar outdoor eating or cooking device when conducted safely and prudently, and small fires kindled safely, preferably in a noncombustible enclosure, for warmth and comfort.

That means an ordinary backyard grill or smoker used in a barbecue pit or cook-out device is exempt from the permit requirement as long as it is operated safely and does not spread. This provision sits in Chapter 8, Fire Protection, and cross-references a parallel park-specific rule at Sec. 16-29, which separately bans kindling any fire in a city park except in a regularly constructed fireplace or grill and requires any fire to be fully extinguished before the person leaves it. Violating either the outdoor-fire permit requirement or the in-park fire rule is enforced the same way, and inspectors from the fire marshal's office administer compliance under Sec. 8-81, which allows notices of violation and civil citations for fire code violations generally.