Lafayette, IN Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Lafayette's open-burning prohibition in Section 3.05.020 bars any open burning unless a Chapter 3.05 exemption applies. Section 3.05.030(A) is the exemption for cooking: it allows the burning of charcoal, clean untreated wood, and other cooking fuels customarily used in an outdoor grill, traditional food cooking devices, or campfires. That single subsection covers grills, smokers that burn wood or charcoal, and campfire-style cooking devices alike, provided the fuel matches what the section names. The exemption is conditioned on complying with applicable state and federal statutes, regulations, or other law, per the opening line of Section 3.05.030.

Section 3.05.040 then applies its general conditions to any exempt cooking fire: it must be done during safe weather, meaning no high winds, temperature inversions, air stagnation, or a declared pollution alert or ozone action day; the fire must be attended at all times until completely extinguished; the Lafayette Fire Department can order it extinguished if it becomes a fire hazard, pollution problem, or danger to public health, safety, or comfort; adequate firefighting equipment must be on-site; and it cannot be used for waste disposal.

Because the grill/smoker exemption in Section 3.05.030(A) does not carry the building-type or container restrictions that apply to residential burning under Section 3.05.030(B), a backyard smoker or grill is not required to sit in a vented noncombustible container, unlike a general residential fire pit.