Fire Regulations in Medford, OR (2026)
6 verified fire regulations for Medford, Oregon, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Fire Pits & Backyard Fires
Medford lets one- and two-family homes have a permit-free recreational fire, but the fuel area is capped at three feet by three feet and two feet tall, and portable outdoor fireplaces are allowed the same way, all with the property owner's permission.
Medford Recreational Fire Pit Size Limit
Some RestrictionsMedford Municipal Code § 7.752(3)(d)
(d) The following fires at one- and two-family dwellings. (i) Recreational fires where the fuel size is limited to three feet by three feet wide and two feet tall; or (ii) Portable outdoor fireplaces.
Fireworks
Medford prohibits retail fireworks sales everywhere in the city and bans using or exploding any type of fireworks within the Wildfire Hazard Zone, the Bear Creek Greenway, any city park, and any public school. Only a permitted public display, backed by a $1,000,000 bond and a Medford Fire Department permit filed ten days ahead, is allowed as an exception.
Medford Bans All Fireworks Use and Sales
Heavy RestrictionsMedford Municipal Code § 7.022
The Use of All Types of Fireworks in this Jurisdiction are Prohibited within the Wildfire Hazard Zone, the Bear Creek Greenway, any City Park, and any Public School. The Retail Sales of Fireworks are Prohibited within this Jurisdiction. (1) To offer for sale, expose for sale, or sell at retail any fireworks within this jurisdiction is specifically prohibited. (2) To use or explode any fireworks...
Outdoor Burning
Medford bans any fire not specifically authorized: a Fire Department permit is required for structure burns, commercial recreational fires, and any burning the fire code official flags, and unlisted fires are flatly prohibited citywide under Section 7.752.
Medford Open Burning Permit Requirement
Significant RestrictionsMedford Municipal Code § 7.752
(1) No person shall attempt, cause, or allow a fire to be initiated or maintained without a permit issued by the Medford Fire Department, unless a permit is not required per subsection (3) of this section... (4) Fires not specified by subsections (2) and (3) of this section are prohibited within the City of Medford.
Wildfire Zones
Medford's fire code defines a 'Wildfire Risk Area' as equivalent to Jackson County's own designated wildfire hazard area or zone, and that boundary triggers extra citywide rules: fireworks use and sales are banned inside it, and structures built within it must maintain 100-foot defensible-space firebreaks. The Fire & Life Safety Division enforces the designation.
Medford Wildfire Hazard Zone Designation
Some RestrictionsMedford Municipal Code § 7.017
(1) Wherever the word "jurisdiction" is used in the Oregon Fire Code, it shall mean the City of Medford. (2) Wildfire Risk Area: The wildfire risk area defined in the Oregon Fire Code shall be equivalent to Jackson County's defined wildfire hazard area/zone.
Smoke Detectors
Medford requires smoke alarms in every Group R-2, R-3, R-4, and unregulated dwelling, placed outside each sleeping area, inside every bedroom, and on every story including basements. This amended standard, IPMC § 704.2, was adopted at Medford Municipal Code § 9.901 and is enforced through the Property Maintenance Code's civil penalty process.
Medford Smoke Alarm Placement Requirement
Some RestrictionsMedford Municipal Code § 9.901 (IPMC § 704.2, as amended)
704.2 Smoke Alarms. Single or multiple-station smoke alarms shall be installed and maintained in Groups R-2, R-3, R-4 and in dwellings not regulated in Group R, regardless of occupant load at all of the following locations: 1. On the ceiling or wall outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms. 2. In each room used for sleeping purposes. 3. In each story within a...
Propane Storage
Medford applies the Oregon Fire Code's bulk liquefied-petroleum-gas storage limits to every property in the city. Section 7.023(23) amends Fire Code Section 6104.2 so the citywide boundary is the 'limit' inside which bulk LP-gas storage is restricted, meaning no part of Medford falls outside that restricted zone.
Medford Bans Bulk LP-Gas Storage Citywide
Significant RestrictionsMedford Municipal Code § 7.023(23)
(23) Section 6104.2 is amended by adding the following language: The limits referred to in Section 6104.2 of the Oregon Fire Code in which bulk storage of liquefied petroleum gas is restricted includes all properties within this jurisdiction.