Fire Permit Category Breakdown
Fire Permits are broken down into four Categories
Category I Fire
A small controlled fire, such as a cooking fire.
Must be contained within a ring of fire resistive material or in a portable fire place and cannot be greater than 2 feet in diameter.
Must be no closer than 25 feet from a structure
With approval from the Forest Fire Warden ONLY, a Category I Fire may be kindled at any time of the day weather raining or not.
Category I permits may be issued as a seasonal permit, but may be suspended if the Forest Fire Warden or Deputy Forest Fire Warden determines fire conditions to be too dangerous.
In Merrimack Category I Fire Permits are reserved for summer camps and camp grounds
Category II Fire
A controlled fire, such as a camp or cooking fire.
Must be contained within a ring of fire resistive material or in a portable fire place.
Cannot be greater than 4 feet in diameter.
Must be at least 50 feet from any structure.
A Category II Fire may only be kindled between the hours of 5:00 pm and 9:00 am.
Category II permits may be issued as a seasonal permit, but may be suspended if the Forest Fire Warden or Deputy Forest Fire Warden determines fire conditions to be too dangerous.
Category III Fire
A controlled fire greater than 4 feet in diameter or
A controlled fire not contained within a ring of fire resistive material.
Must be no less than 50 feet from any structure
A Category III Fire may only be kindled between the hours of 5:00 pm and 9:00 am.
Category III permits can be issued for up to 7 days depending on weather conditions.
Category IV Fire
A controlled fire larger that a Category III Fire
May be kindled during the day between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm even if it is not raining.
The permittee must comply with additional special provisions to qualify for a Category IV Permit.
A Category IV Permit is issued jointly between the State of New Hampshire Forest Ranger and the local Forest Fire Warden.
This type of permit is very rarely issued in the Town of Merrimack, it is often referred to as a "Commercial Burning Permit".