Fire Regulations in Bellingham, WA (2026)
3 verified fire regulations for Bellingham, Washington, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Fireworks
Bellingham bans manufacturing, importing, possessing, selling, transporting, or publicly displaying fireworks citywide; only a licensed public display (never in the Lake Whatcom watershed) and trick or novelty items are permitted.
Bellingham Consumer Fireworks Ban
Heavy RestrictionsBellingham Municipal Code § 10.24.130
B. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no person may: 1. Manufacture, import, possess, or sell fireworks at wholesale or retail for any use; 2. Make a public display of fireworks; or 3. Transport fireworks, except as a licensee or as a public carrier delivering to a licensee. ... G. Any person who possesses, discharges, or otherwise uses consumer fireworks in the city shall be guilty ...
Smoke Detectors
Bellingham inspects every short-term rental before licensing and requires an interconnected smoke alarm in each bedroom plus a hallway detector, and a functioning carbon monoxide alarm on any floor with a bedroom, unless the unit has no fuel-burning equipment or attached garage.
Bellingham STR Smoke Alarm Requirement
Some RestrictionsBellingham Municipal Code § 20.10.037(D)(11)(b)-(c)
Each bedroom must have a smoke alarm that is interconnected with a smoke detector in an adjacent hallway that is in the dwelling unit; and c. Each bedroom must be located on the floor of a dwelling unit that is equipped with a functioning carbon monoxide alarm. If the dwelling unit does not have fuel burning equipment or an attached garage, a carbon monoxide alarm is not required.
Propane Storage
Bellingham applies the International Fire Code's liquefied-petroleum-gas storage restriction to nearly every developed zoning district in the city under a local geographic-limits ordinance.
Bellingham LP-Gas Storage Zone Limits
Some RestrictionsBellingham Municipal Code § 17.20.090
The limits referred to in Section 6104.2 of the International Fire Code, in which storage of liquefied petroleum gas is restricted, are hereby established as those zones designated residential single, residential multi, commercial, planned residential, planned commercial, and institutional by the land use development ordinance, BMC Title 20. [Ord. 2024-03-010 § 9; Ord. 2021-01-002 § 9; Ord. 201...
Looking for Whatcom County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Bellingham city rules.
Fire Regulations in Whatcom County →