Fire Regulations in Hillsborough County, FL (2026)
4 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 3 cities in Hillsborough County, Florida.
Verified from official government sources
Fireworks
Consumer fireworks are legal in unincorporated Hillsborough County on the three state-designated holidays only: July 4, December 31, and January 1. Outside those dates, only sparklers and novelties from the approved list may be used. Agricultural exemption use has been narrowed by the 2020 Fireworks Law.
Fire: Fireworks
Some RestrictionsF.S. 791.08 — Use during designated holidays; exemption
791.08 Use during designated holidays; exemption. — (1) As used in this section, the term "designated holiday" means: (a) New Year's Day, January 1; (b) Independence Day, July 4; or (c) New Year's Eve, December 31. (2) This chapter does not prohibit the use of fireworks solely and exclusively during a designated holiday. This section is not intended to provide for the comprehensive regulation o...
Outdoor Burning
Hillsborough County bans open burning countywide except for a short list of exemptions, noncommercial cooking or recreational campfires, ceremonial fires, official weed-abatement burns, and firefighting-instruction fires, under the county's Environmental Protection Act.
Hillsborough County Open Burning Ban
Significant RestrictionsHillsborough County Code of Ordinances, Part A, Appx. Ch. 24, Art. I (Environmental Protection Act), Sec. 13
No person shall ignite, cause to be ignited, permit to be ignited or suffer, allow or maintain any open burning except: (1) Fires or campfires used only for noncommercial preparation of food, for recreational purposes, for ceremonial occasions, or on cold days for warming of outdoor workers, as long as a nuisance is not created. (2) Any fire set or permitted b...
Smoke Detectors
Every dwelling in unincorporated Hillsborough County must have operational smoke detectors outside sleeping areas under NFPA standards, a maintenance-code duty for existing housing separate from the state's new-construction alarm law.
Hillsborough County Smoke Detector Rule
Some RestrictionsSec. 8-115(i)(1)
Operational smoke detectors shall be required outside the sleeping areas of all dwellings or dwelling units, and shall be installed in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association's National Fire Alarm Code, as amended. (2) Fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers shall be required to be provided for all dwelling units that contain two or more units. The req...
Propane Storage
Hillsborough County treats residential propane tanks as mechanical equipment under its Land Development Code: they cannot sit in a required front yard, and can project only limited distances into required side and rear yards.
Hillsborough County Propane Tank Placement
Some RestrictionsHillsborough County Land Development Code § 6.01.03.I.3
Mechanical equipment, such as air conditioning units, pumps, heating equipment, propane tanks, electrical generators and similar installations, may not project into the required front yard(s), but may project five feet into the required rear yard(s), and three feet or no more than 50 percent of the required side yard(s), whichever is m...
Fire Regulations by City in Hillsborough County
3 cities in Hillsborough County have their own fire regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
All Hillsborough County ordinances
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