Stamford, CT Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Chapter 127's open burning ban starts from a narrow definition: 'open burning' is any outdoor fire that kindles material to burn, but the ordinance carves out two categories before the ban even applies. The first is cooking fires: barbecues and other outdoor open fires in fireplaces, or otherwise fueled by wood, charcoal or gas, used to cook food for human consumption. The second is campfires and bonfires held purely for ceremonial or recreational purposes, but only if they burn nonprocessed wood and don't create a nuisance.

Everything else outdoors is treated differently. The open burning of brush on residential property is prohibited outright under § 127-5(B), with no permit option. All other open burning is banned unless allowed under Connecticut General Statutes § 22a-174(f) or § 22a-174-17 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies; a resident who wants to burn something in that narrower lawful category must apply to the city's open burning official, a person appointed by the Mayor and certified by the state fire commissioner, and any certificate issued can carry restrictions to prevent a nuisance or fire hazard.

Copies of any issued certificate go to the Health Department and Police Department. Separately, § 127-6 requires that any outdoor fire, including a grill or smoker fire once it's lit, not be left unattended, and § 127-7 lets the Mayor close woodlands and cancel outstanding burning permissions during periods of extreme drought.