1) Refer to your fire as a “recreational fire.” This is the technical term for your celebratory acoustic guitar and marshmallow-filled fire. “Bonfire” is the colloquial term but technically refers to a much larger inferno that would require a permit.

2) Gather or purchase logs to burn. “You can’t burn rubbish, and you can’t burn leaves,” Fire Marshal Jim Pasley says. So don’t burn things in order to get rid of them, no matter how much you want to erase the existence of calculus from your memory.

3) Set up your fire at least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material (i.e. a tent if you’re camping). This is mandated by the 2009 International Fire Code — which the city of Columbia follows — in an effort to keep you from burning shit down.

4) Light a fire that is no more than 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet high. Anything larger will move beyond the realm of recreational fire and be considered “open burning,” which requires a (free) permit and an inspection prior to the actual fire. So keep a yardstick handy, or at least have a “capable” person monitor the fire’s size and activity.

5) Responsibly enjoy your fire. Roast a ‘mallow. Have s’more. HAHA GET IT.

6) Put out the fire. “We instruct people to have some kind of extinguishing agent or garden hose available at all times,” Pasley says. “It has to be put out before you go to bed, and someone always has to be present at the fire.”

Remember to contact the fire department if you have any doubts, questions or apprehensions about your fire. They’re nice people and they want to help keep you safe.