8 rules for unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland.
Verified from official government sources
Small recreational fires no larger than three feet in diameter are allowed and no permit is needed if the fire is constantly attended. Fires and open-flame cooking devices must be at least 15 feet from apartments and condos.
Ground-based sparkling devices and non-chlorate sparklers are legal statewide. Aerial and explosive consumer fireworks (Roman candles, firecrackers, bottle rockets, mortars) are illegal to discharge without a State Fire Marshal permit, which is issued only for professional public displays.
Md. Code, Public Safety §10-101
"Fireworks" does not include ground-based sparkling devices that are nonaerial and nonexplosive, and are labeled in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Baltimore County has no wildfire-style defensible-space brush-clearance mandate like California's. Overgrown brush is handled under the county's high-grass and property-maintenance rules, and any burning of cleared brush is governed by the open-burning restrictions.
Open burning, including recreational bonfires, is prohibited inside the Beltway (I-695). Outside the Beltway, bonfires need a Fire Marshal permit. Leaf burning is banned throughout the County. Maryland also bans most open fires June 1–August 31.
COMAR 26.11.07.02
A person may not cause or permit an open fire except as provided in Regulations .03----.05 of this chapter.
Baltimore County is not in a designated wildfire hazard zone and has no WUI defensible-space or fire-hardening code. Maryland's wildfire risk is low; open fires are instead controlled by the county open-burning rules and the seasonal state burn ban.
Maryland law requires a smoke alarm in every sleeping area of every residential occupancy. Battery-only alarms must be replaced with 10-year sealed-battery units, and all alarms must be replaced when 10 years old. Landlords must maintain them.
Md. Code, Public Safety §9-102
An automatic smoke alarm shall be provided in each sleeping area within each residential occupancy, including one- and two-family dwellings, lodging or rooming houses, hotels, dormitories, and apartment buildings, as defined in NFPA 101: Life Safety Code as adopted by the State Fire Prevention Commission.
Backyard recreational fires up to three feet in diameter are allowed without a permit if constantly attended. Open fires are banned entirely inside the Beltway (I-695), and larger bonfires outside it require a Fire Marshal permit.
Except at one- and two-family homes, propane grills and LP-gas cooking devices may not be used, stored, or lit on any balcony, patio, under an overhang, or within 15 feet of a multifamily building. Larger LP-gas storage follows the adopted fire code.
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