(A) No person, business or firm shall burn, allow or cause to be burned any household trash, refuse, paper, litter, natural vegetation, processed wood or other material of any kind outside any house, on or in any street, sidewalk, alley, lot or yard within the city limits or any extraterritorial jurisdiction that would conflict with the North Carolina Fire Prevention Code.
(B) A fire can be utilized for recreational purposes in a commercially purchased “fire pit” that has a screen over the fire or in a professional built outside fireplace or oven which is used for outdoor cooking and shall not be within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material. Portable outdoor fireplaces shall be used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and shall not be operated within 15 feet of a structure or combustible material. Only small kindling materials shall be burned in the pit. (N.C. Fire Code 307.4.2 and 307.4.3)
(C) Any fire that is reported as a nuisance must be extinguished immediately by the property owner or the Fire Department. All current warnings regarding burn bans from the North Carolina Forest Service or North Carolina Department of Air Quality must be adhered to at all times.
(D) Fires purposely set to agricultural lands for disease and pest control and other excepted agricultural or wildlife management practices.
(E) The only exception to this section is live fire training being conducted by the Fire Department, which may include portable fire extinguishing training at schools, businesses or for civic organizations, and the like, burning of houses at the owner’s request or if a structure is deemed a public health or safety problem for the city or neighborhoods. The Fire Department shall follow all rules and regulations that are set forth by the North Carolina Department of Air Quality (Department of Environmental Health and Natural Resources).
(Ord. passed 3-8-2022)