Smyrna, GA Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Section 50-7 opens with a flat rule: no outside burning of rubbish or yard waste is allowed at any time within the city limits. Subsection (1) then lists what the restrictions on outdoor burning do not apply to, and the first item is grilling or cooking using charcoal, clean wood, propane or natural gas. A grill or smoker fired with one of those fuels falls inside that item. The section names grilling and cooking, not smokers, so the fuel is what decides the question.

Section 50-27 supplies the definitions the fuel rules turn on. Clean wood means natural wood that has not been painted, varnished or coated with a similar material, has not been pressure treated with preservatives, and does not contain resins or glues as in plywood or composite wood products. Rubbish means any waste material other than charcoal or clean wood, and the list includes plastic products, styrofoam, painted or varnished wood, clothing, furniture, mattresses, boxes and paper. Charcoal and clean wood are therefore the named fuels, while painted, treated or glued wood is not.

The recreational fire rules are written for a different category. Section 50-27 defines a recreational fire as one where the fuel is not contained in an incinerator, outdoor fireplace, barbeque grill or barbeque pit, with a total fuel area of three feet or less in diameter and two feet or less in height. The 25-foot clearance and 100-foot attendance rules in Sec. 50-7(2) attach to recreational fires.

Subsection (2) also lists safeguards for outdoor burning: burning of petroleum-based products such as tires, plastics and roof shingles, which produce black smoke, is prohibited, and burning of any material in a barrel is prohibited. Under subsection (3), the fire chief or designee is authorized to ban outdoor burning when atmospheric or local conditions make it hazardous, when it adversely interferes with the enjoyment of life or use of property, or when a resident is adversely affected by the smoke due to a medical condition.