Backyard smokers are treated as open-flame cooking devices under the NJ Fire Code. At apartments and condos they cannot sit on combustible balconies or within 5 feet of the building; detached homes are exempt.
New Jersey's Uniform Fire Code Section 308 covers charcoal, wood, and pellet smokers along with grills. On combustible balconies and decks of multifamily buildings, these devices are prohibited, and they must stay 5 feet from combustible construction—unless the building is a detached one- or two-family dwelling or is sprinklered. For single-family homeowners, backyard smoking is essentially unrestricted at the county level. Camden County has no dedicated smoker or barbecue ordinance; smoke that drifts and annoys neighbors is handled as a municipal nuisance, not a county rule. In county parks, use designated grilling areas and get a permit for any open fire.
A smoker used against the fire-code setback at a multifamily building can draw a fire-code citation. Persistent smoke nuisance is enforced under municipal nuisance ordinances, not county law.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Camden County's smoker rules rules stack up against other locations.
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