Durham County Fire Marshal

03/29/2026

Due to increased wildfire risk, the N.C. Forest Service has issued a ban on all open burning and has canceled all burning permits statewide effective 6 p.m. Saturday, March 28 until further notice.

Under North Carolina law, the ban prohibits all open burning in the affected counties, regardless of whether a permit was previously issued. The issuance of any new permits has also been suspended until the ban is lifted. Anyone violating the burn ban faces a $100 fine plus $183 court costs. Any person responsible for setting a fire may be liable for any expenses related to extinguishing the fire.

The burn ban does not apply to fires started within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling. The local fire marshal has authority to issue a burn ban within those 100 feet.

Read news release: https://www.ncagr.gov/news/press-releases/2026/03/28/statewide-burn-ban-issued-north-carolina-due-hazardous-forest-fire-conditions

03/23/2026

Effective at 9:00 AM on Monday, March 23, 2026, A burn ban is in effect for all areas of Durham County outside of the municipal city limits until further notice. Both recreational burning and burning of natural vegetation within 100 feet of a structure are prohibited.
As a reminder, burning of any trash is always prohibited and should be disposed of properly at a Durham County Solid Waste convenience site. A list of those locations can be found here -> https://dconc.gov/.../Was.../Durham-County-Convenience-Sites

03/07/2026

Welcome Amari! We’re glad to have you as part of the OES team!

Please join us in welcoming Amari Devine to the Office of Emergency Services, Business Operations Division.

Amari stepped into her new role as Administrative Support Assistant on Monday, bringing with her six years of impressive and progressive administrative experience. Her background spans medical billing, compliance, and a proven talent for handling high-volume public interactions—whether over the phone or in person—with grace and professionalism.

In her new position, Amari will be the primary point of contact for the Fire Marshal Office (FM), lend her expertise to data analytics support, manage badging, and much more. We’re excited to have someone with her skill set as part of our team.

A true Durham native and proud mother of two, Amari enjoys spending quality time with her family when she’s not at work.

We can’t wait to see the great contributions she’ll bring to the important work we do in OES Business Operations.

01/23/2026

❄️ Mass Emergency Shelter Opens January 24
We have partnered with Durham County Government to open a shelter to keep folks safe and warm during the winter storm. If you won't be able to shelter safely in place, make plans ahead of time to come to the 'new' Northern High School.
📍 4622 N. Roxboro St. (follow signs to the main gym)
🕙 Opens: 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 24
🛏️ Cots, meals, showers, phone charging, and pet kennels will be available
🎒 Bring medications, food (especially for dietary needs), hygiene items, and comfort items if you can

Stay up to date ➡️ https://www.durhamnc.gov/4888/Severe-Weather-Updates-Resources

01/23/2026

Don’t Forget!

Generators can create harmful colorless and odorless gas known as Carbon Monoxide or CO. When using generators ensure they are outside of your home and exhausting away. Having a Carbon Monoxide detector will also provide notifications of hazardous conditions inside your home should CO make its way into your home!

01/23/2026

As you prepare for potential winter weather this weekend, please remember to use caution when heating your home by always keeping 3 feet or clear space around heat producing equipment such as space heaters.

12/31/2025

Fire danger is high today, please postpone any outdoor burning until conditions are more favorable.

Fire danger is elevated across most of the state today. Outdoor burning is NOT recommended. Dry grasses, dead leaves and other vegetative debris could easily ignite and spread quickly.

Spread prevention, not wildfire.

Before burning, contact your local N.C. Forest Service county ranger’s office for guidance. Contacts: https://bit.ly/3lpoWR0

For safe outdoor burning and wildfire prevention best practices: www.preventwildfirenc.org.

12/05/2025

The Durham County Office of Emergency Services-Fire Marshal has lifted the burn ban that was enacted on November 17th, 2025. We appreciate your assistance in keeping your neighbors and our community safe.

12/04/2025

As a reminder, a burn ban is still in effect for Durham County exclusive of the city limits of Durham until further notice. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping yourselves, your neighbors and our community safe.

Effective at 6:00 AM on Monday, November 17th, 2025, A burn ban is in effect for all areas of Durham County outside of the municipal city limits until further notice. Both recreational burning and burning of natural vegetation within 100 feet of a structure are prohibited.

As a reminder, burning of any trash is always prohibited and should be disposed of properly at a Durham County Solid Waste convenience site. A list of those locations can be found here -> https://dconc.gov/General-Services/Waste-and-Recycling/Durham-County-Convenience-Sites

11/27/2025

🦃🔥 Thanksgiving is a time for family, food, and safety!
Before you start cooking up your holiday feast, take a moment to review these important Thanksgiving Cooking Safety Tips from Bahama Fire Protection.

✅ Stay in the kitchen while cooking
✅ Keep flammable items away from the stove
✅ Check your smoke alarms

Let’s make this Thanksgiving memorable for the right reasons — not because of a kitchen fire!
Learn more at 👉 bahamavfd.com

11/25/2025

However you choose to celebrate your holidays this week. The Durham County Office of Emergency Services-Fire Marshal would like to remind you of a few fire safety tips from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to help keep your family and home safe.

-Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stove top so you can keep an eye on the food.
-Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently.
-Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot; kids should stay 3 feet away.
-Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. Steam or splashes from vegetables, gravy, or coffee could cause serious burns.
-Keep knives out of the reach of children.
-Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer, or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.
-Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children — up high in a locked cabinet.
-Never leave children alone in a room with a lit candle.
-Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.
-Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.

For those of you who wish to fry a turkey this year, take a moment to watch the video below, which highlights the dangers of deep-frying turkeys. Fryers that use cooking oils and open flames are unsafe and should be replaced with infrared or electric models.

-Be sure your turkey is completely thawed
-Ensure your fryer does not have too much oil and will not overflow when the turkey is placed inside
-Use your fryer at least 25 feet away from your home or other combustibles
- Never leave your fryer unattended

Turkey fryers can be dangerous and cause a serious fire hazard. NFPA® and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) demonstrate the risk in using turk...

11/17/2025

Effective at 6:00 AM on Monday, November 17th, 2025, A burn ban is in effect for all areas of Durham County outside of the municipal city limits until further notice. Both recreational burning and burning of natural vegetation within 100 feet of a structure are prohibited.

As a reminder, burning of any trash is always prohibited and should be disposed of properly at a Durham County Solid Waste convenience site. A list of those locations can be found here -> https://dconc.gov/General-Services/Waste-and-Recycling/Durham-County-Convenience-Sites