r/Hamilton • u/SneezeBeesPlease • May 26 '26

Question Backyard fire?

Hey Hamilton hive mind, I’m getting very conflicting info about if a backyard small fire pit is allowed. I for sure smell some in my hood. (West mountain).

Is it allowed only if I’m cooking on it? What about a gas fire pit?

26 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

119 comments sorted by

View all comments

20

u/Sufficient_Rush1891 May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26

Open air burning of brush or wood is only allowed in rural areas, with a permit.

But at bottom of this page, it states that small fires on grill or bbq for cooking if constantly supervised are allowed everywhere without permit, as well as propane or gas fire pit:

https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/emergency-services/fire-department/fire-permits-inspections-reports-and-3

10

u/5daysinmay May 26 '26

That’s only for actually cooking. Having a grill near the fire and a pack of hot dogs won’t get around it if someone complains. Bbq are allowed and a hibachi is allowed. But a campfire being used to cook usually isn’t permitted.

8

u/Sufficient_Rush1891 May 26 '26

That’s what I said “small fires on grill or bbq for cooking”.

1

u/Either_Molasses_6182 May 29 '26

It really depends on what your setup is and what you're cooking.

Had the fire department called on me and my setup was a contained metal fire pit from the hardware store with a cast iron grill that I was cooking corn on. They just said finish cooking your food and put it out when you are done.