8 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 2 cities in Kent County, Michigan.
Verified from official government sources
Kent County sets no countywide fire-pit rule; your city or township does. In Grand Rapids Charter Township, recreational fires are allowed if the pit sits at least 25 feet from structures, is no larger than 3 by 3 feet, and is supervised by an adult 21 or older.
GR Charter Twp. Ord. 486, Sec. 3(a)
Fire pits and outdoor fireplaces must be located at least 25 feet from all structures, on dirt or another noncombustible surface, and all combustible material must be cleared at least five feet from the outermost edge of the fire pit or outdoor fireplace.
Michigan's Fireworks Safety Act lets your city or township restrict when consumer fireworks are used, but it cannot ban them on state-designated days after 11 a.m. — including December 31, and June 29 through July 4. Kent County itself sets no fireworks rule; check your local ordinance.
MCL 28.457(2)
If a local unit of government enacts an ordinance under this subsection, the ordinance shall not regulate the ignition, discharge, or use of consumer fireworks on the following days after 11 a.m.: (a) December 31 until 1 a.m. on January 1. ... (c) June 29 to July 4 until 11:45 p.m. on each of those days.
Kent County imposes no defensible-space or brush-clearance requirement — it is not a designated wildfire county. Clearing brush for a permitted burn is governed by township setback rules, and general nuisance-weed removal falls under the Michigan Noxious Weed Act enforced locally.
Michigan law bans open burning of household waste containing plastic, rubber, foam, treated wood, textiles, electronics, or chemicals statewide. Kent County is in the southern Lower Peninsula, so burn permits come from your local fire department or township, not the DNR.
MCL 324.11539(3)
A person shall not conduct open burning of household waste that contains plastic, rubber, foam, chemically treated wood, textiles, electronics, chemicals, or hazardous materials.
Kent County is not a designated wildfire or wildland-urban-interface county. It sits in the developed southern Lower Peninsula, where the DNR does not issue burn permits and imposes no defensible-space requirement. Fire danger is monitored statewide but not zoned locally.
Michigan's Residential Code requires smoke alarms in each sleeping room, outside every sleeping area, and on each story including basements. There is no separate Kent County rule — the statewide code and your city's rental inspection program set the standard.
Mich. Admin. Code R 408.30546 (MRC R314.3.2)
Smoke alarms shall be installed ... (1) In each sleeping room or immediate vicinity of the sleeping room. (2) On each floor level including the basement level.
Backyard recreational fires are allowed in most Kent County townships if kept small, clean-burning, and supervised. In Grand Rapids Charter Township only dry cut timber may be burned, an extinguishing agent must stay within 10 feet, and the fire must be out by midnight.
GR Charter Twp. Ord. 486, Sec. 3(c),(g),(h)
Recreational fires must be clean burning and built only from dry, cut timber no longer than 24 inches and no larger than four inches in diameter. ... An extinguishing agent must be kept within 10 feet of a recreational fire. ... Recreational fires must be extinguished by midnight.
Kent County sets no propane-storage ordinance. Storage of LP-gas cylinders is governed by Michigan's adopted International Fire Code and NFPA 58, enforced by your local fire department — including limits on cylinder size stored indoors and clearances for larger tanks.
2 cities in Kent County have their own fire regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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