Wood, pellet, charcoal, and propane smokers are allowed in Madison as cooking devices. They fall under the same cooking-fire exception to the open-burning ban, provided they are used for food preparation, attended, and do not create nuisance smoke for neighbors.
Madison permits fires ignited and maintained to cook food, which covers backyard smokers. A smoker is not treated as prohibited open burning as long as it is genuinely used for cooking; a fire kept burning after cooking is finished, or one not intended for food, can be treated as illegal open burning and extinguished. Use only clean fuel (seasoned wood, pellets, charcoal, or propane) appropriate to the appliance, keep the smoker a safe distance from structures and combustibles, and ensure the smoke does not create a nuisance. Cool and dispose of ash in a non-combustible container. Follow the manufacturer's clearances, and store any propane cylinder per fire-code limits.
If a smoker's smoke creates a nuisance or the fire is not for cooking, the Fire Department can require it be extinguished and issue a citation.
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