8 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Erie County, New York.
Verified from official government sources
Small recreational fire pits are allowed under NY DEC rules if they burn only clean, untreated wood or charcoal and stay under three feet high and four feet across. Towns and the City of Buffalo may add stricter local requirements.
Consumer fireworks are illegal statewide under NY Penal Law 270.00, but sparkling devices are legal in Erie County because the county has not opted out. Aerial and explosive fireworks remain banned everywhere.
Erie County has no wildfire-driven defensible-space mandate like western states. Brush and weed control is handled locally as a property-maintenance and nuisance matter by towns and the City of Buffalo.
New York bans residential brush burning statewide from March 16 through May 14, and burning trash is illegal year-round. Erie County follows these DEC rules; larger towns cannot burn brush at all.
6 NYCRR Part 215 (Open Fires) — NYSDEC
Open burning is regulated under Part 215. Part 215 describes the types of fires that are allowed and the materials that may be burned in an open fire. Towns, villages, cities, and counties can pass ordinances that are stricter than Part 215. The following types of open fires are allowed in NYS. All fires must consist of only charcoal or dry, clean, untreated, and unpainted wood. Campfires, smal...
Erie County has no designated wildfire hazard zones. New York's humid, lake-effect climate means there is no CAL-FIRE-style mapping or defensible-space requirement here, unlike western states.
New York's Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and Amanda's Law require working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in homes statewide. Erie County towns and the City of Buffalo enforce these rules locally.
Small recreational backyard fires are legal under DEC rules if kept under three feet high and four feet across and fueled only by clean wood or charcoal. Trash and brush burning are separately restricted or banned.
Propane storage in Erie County follows the New York State Fire Code, which sets limits on cylinder size and placement at homes. There is no separate countywide propane ordinance; towns and Buffalo enforce the state code.
1 cities in Erie County have their own fire regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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