Fire Regulations in Santa Fe, NM (2026)
5 verified fire regulations for Santa Fe, New Mexico, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Fireworks
Santa Fe bans manufacturing, selling, possessing or discharging any fireworks without a permit. Retailers may sell only 'safe and sane' fireworks (no report, under 15 feet in height) under a fire department permit, and only buyers 16 or older may possess them. Violators face a misdemeanor: up to 90 days in jail or a $500 fine, with each day a separate offense.
Santa Fe Fireworks Ban and Permit Rules
Significant RestrictionsSections 12-3.2 and 12-3.9(E) SFCC 1987
Except as hereinafter provided it shall be unlawful to manufacture, sell, offer to sell, own, possess or discharge any fireworks within the city. [...] Any individual, firm, partnership, or other entity found in violation of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment for up to ninety (90) days or a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00)...
Outdoor Burning
Santa Fe makes careless outdoor burning a crime, not just a code violation. Section 16-12.1 SFCC 1987 bans setting fire to vegetation or forest material without the landowner's permission, letting a fire escape without reasonable precautions, or leaving a campfire unattended, and makes any violation a petty misdemeanor.
Santa Fe criminalizes careless outdoor burning
Significant RestrictionsSanta Fe City Code § 16-12.1
A.Improperly handling of fire consists of:(1)Setting fire, or causing or procuring a fire to be set to any inflammable vegetation or forest material, growing or being on the lands of another person and without the permission of the owner thereof;(2)Allowing fire to escape or spread from the control of the person having charge thereof without using reasonable and proper precaution to prevent suc...
Wildfire Zones
Within Santa Fe's Escarpment Overlay District, wildfire risk is one of the express reasons the city regulates the ridgetop and foothills area at all. Section 14-5.6 requires a landscape plan for any development there, and the density of required screening vegetation can be cut below the normal maximum whenever the city decides that reduction is needed to reduce wildfire risk.
Santa Fe Escarpment Overlay Wildfire Rules
Significant RestrictionsSanta Fe Code § 14-5.6(A)(1)(f) and § 14-5.6(G)(2)(b), (G)(13)
(f)Reduce the risk to life and health of residents in the escarpment by reducing wildfire risk; and (g)Encourage the conservation of water, especially for maintaining landscaping materials. ... All vegetation shall be planted and maintained at a density commensurate with the adjacent existing natural landscape up to a maximum of sixty basal area as approved by the city . The density may be furt...
Smoke Detectors
Santa Fe requires smoke alarms in every bedroom of a short-term rental unit before the city will issue or renew a permit or registration. Section 14-6.2(A)(5)(i) makes the alarms one of seven fire and life-safety conditions the land use department inspects, alongside carbon monoxide detectors and a fire evacuation plan.
Santa Fe Smoke Alarm Rule for Short-Term Rentals
Some RestrictionsSanta Fe, N.M., Land Development Code (SFCC 1987) § 14-6.2(A)(5)(i)
(i)fire evacuation plan;(ii)carbon monoxide detection;(iii)smoke alarms in all bedrooms;(iv)fire extinguishers on each floor;(v)no storage of combustible materials in mechanical, boiler, or electrical rooms;(vi)fireplace or wood stove must have non-combustible ash receptacle outside the dwelling unit ; and(vii)address numerals must be at least four (4) inches tall, with one-half inch stroke wid...
Propane Storage
Santa Fe caps aboveground liquefied-petroleum-gas storage tanks at 1,000 gallons citywide, allowing them only at distribution points, and requires every tank and installation to meet the adopted city fire code under Section 12-2.4.
Santa Fe LP-Gas Aboveground Storage Tank Cap
Some RestrictionsSanta Fe City Code (SFCC 1987) Section 12-2.4(D)
Nothing in paragraphs A and B of this subsection shall prohibit the installation or construction of aboveground tanks in the city for the storage of liquefied petroleum gas at a distribution point. Tanks shall not exceed one thousand (1,000) gallon tank capacity. For the purposes of this subsection "liquefied petroleum gas" (also referred to as "lp gas" or "lpg") means and includes any material...