Outdoor Cooking Permits

1. A cooking fire permit must be obtained at the Manchester By-the-Sea Fire Department fire station when setting a cooking fire on public land. It should be obtained on the day you intend to grill. It will be subject to the predicted fire danger class day as determined by the Mass Department of Conservation and Recreation. 
2. The person obtaining the permit must be 18 years or older.
3. The fire must be made of charcoals and be contained in a metal container on rocky, sandy, or land free of vegetation. (There is no open burning, campfires, or bonfires allowed and burning of the following materials is prohibited: firewood, pallets, lumber, trash, plastic, cardboard, etc.). You may not dig a pit in the sand or put the burning components directly on the ground!
4. The smoke from the fire must not pose a nuisance to other people.
5. You must have tools available, such as buckets or pails or a garden hose, for use in extinguishing the fire.
6. All hot coals and ashes must be FULLY EXTINGUISHED, cooled, and removed from the beach or public land. (They should be safely taken off site and safely disposed of.)
7. Never bury hot coals or ashes or leave the fire unattended to die out on its own. People have been severely burned by unknowingly stepping on the top of buried coals. DO NOT put hot coals in the dumpster or any trash cans!
8. The cooking fire permit is valid beginning at 5:00 PM and expires at 10:00 PM.  Therefore, you should begin extinguishing your fire and start the cleanup at 9:00 PM.

Any violation of Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title VII, Chapter 48, 

Section 13, “Setting Open Air Fires; Conditions and Restrictions; Penalty for Violation”,

shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500.00, plus the cost of suppression, or by imprisonment for not more than one month, or both.