Burning Regulations

Hermitage Burning Regulations

  1. Burning hours for the City of Hermitage are 6 a.m. to noon.
    • Exclusion: Burning may be accomplished between the hours of 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM if the fire location is 300 feet away from any occupied building.
  2. Days of burning are Monday through Saturday.
    • Prohibited Days: Sundays, Legal Holidays.
  3. Material that may be burned is limited to “ordinary household class A debris,” which is wood, paper, cloth, and related materials that do not create noxious odors and heavy smoke.
    • Prohibited materials: Any material that creates noxious odors and heavy smoke, such as leaves, grass, shrubbery, and household garbage, or creates a justified neighborhood disturbance.
  4. All household burning must be in a container approved by the fire department. A five-foot square area around the burning container must be free of burned debris (maintained) and other combustible debris.
  5. Special burning permits may be issued by the fire department for material not considered household debris. Such permits will be issued for burning during the hours of 6 a.m. and noon, after which the fire must be allowed to burn out. There shall be no smoldering fires permitted after 6 p.m.
  6. No burning shall be permitted without a permit, except for the burning of household trash during the established burning hours.
  7. General conditions for burning with or without a permit are:
    • No fire shall be permitted within 15 feet of any structure or property line. Burning on property lines is permissible when agreed to by adjoining property owners.
    • No open flame or smoldering fire shall be permitted to burn unattended.
    • No fire shall be started when wind or other factors are such to cause a hazardous or unsafe condition.
    • No fire shall be started unless the permit holder has provided both manpower and equipment to extinguish the fire.
    • Recreational fires for outdoor cooking are permitted. Bonfires for recreational cooking or outdoor camping may be no larger than 5 feet by 5 feet by 5 feet and burn no longer than three hours. The Fire Official may order the extinguishment of such when it is a nuisance.
    • Applications for special burning permits, as called for in the Hermitage Fire Code, require a 10-day notification in writing to the fire department prior to the date of permit issuance. The 10-day notification period may be waived by the Fire Official.
    • The Fire Official may issue or deny all special burning permit requests and assign conditions to the issuance of the burning permits.
  8. Warnings will no longer be issued for violations of the Hermitage Fire Code when a justified complaint is received by the enforcing agency. The violator will be:
    • Advised to immediately extinguish the fire.
    • Advised of the Hermitage Burning Rules and Regulations.
    • Advised that a citation will be issued for the violation.

Hermitage Fire Code Ordinance

The listed rules and regulations for outdoor burning have been excerpted from Section F-300 of the Hermitage Fire Code Ordinance. The complete ordinance is available for review at the Hermitage Central Fire Station at 2511 Highland Road, Hermitage; or, contact the fire department at 724-342-0669.