8 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Washoe County, Nevada.
Verified from official government sources
In the Truckee Meadows Fire district, portable outdoor fireplaces must stay 15 feet from any structure or combustible material (exempt at one- and two-family homes). No permit is needed at homes, but seasonal fire restrictions often ban all open flame.
IFC 307.4.3 (adopted by TMFPD)
Portable outdoor fireplaces shall be used in accordance with the manufactures instructions and shall not be operated within 15 feet of a structure or combustible material.
All consumer fireworks are illegal in unincorporated Washoe County. Nevada leaves fireworks to counties, and Washoe bans possession, use, storage, and discharge everywhere except by a state-licensed pyrotechnic operator with a fire permit.
WCC 50.284
No person may possess, use, store, or discharge fireworks or other materials with a pyrotechnic composition of any class within the boundaries of the unincorporated county unless that person is licensed by the Nevada State Fire Marshal as an assistant pyrotechnic operator or a pyrotechnic operator.
Washoe is a real wildfire county. TMFPD requires defensible space around structures: a 30-foot vegetation buffer in a moderate hazard zone, 50 feet in a high zone, and 100 feet in an extreme zone, under the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code.
IWUIC Table 603.2 (adopted by TMFPD)
Moderate hazard: 30 feet. High hazard: 50 feet. Extreme hazard: 100 feet. Distances are allowed to be increased due to site-specific analysis based on local conditions and the fire protection plan.
All open burning in the Truckee Meadows Fire district requires a TMFPD permit and is closed for the season during summer. When open, burn hours are sunrise to noon, only the first 7 days of the month, with no visible smoke after 1 p.m.
TMFPD Open Burning Regulations
All open burning requires a permit from the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District. Open burning can only be conducted the first 7 days of the month, when conditions allow. Burn hours are sunrise to Noon, with no visible smoke after 1 p.m.
Washoe County adopted the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code and maps every parcel as low, moderate, high, or extreme wildfire hazard. Your zone determines defensible-space and construction requirements. Check your parcel on the county fire-hazard GIS map.
Washoe County follows Nevada state law. NRS 477.140 requires hotels/motels with at least six guest rooms and apartment buildings with at least three units to equip each sleeping room and dwelling unit with an approved smoke detector.
NRS 477.140(1)
The owner or operator of every hotel or motel which contains at least six guest rooms, or apartment building with at least three dwelling units, shall equip each room primarily used for sleeping in a hotel or motel and each dwelling unit in an apartment building with a smoke detector, the placement of which is approved by the authority.
A backyard recreational fire in the TMFPD is limited to 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet high, must burn only clean fuel (not rubbish), and must stay at least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material. No permit is needed at homes.
IFC 307.5 (adopted by TMFPD)
Recreational fires shall not be conducted within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material.
Washoe County follows the Nevada-adopted International Fire Code. In residential/congested areas the aggregate LP-gas storage cannot exceed 2,000 gallons water capacity, and tanks must meet Table 6104.3 setbacks (a 500-gallon aboveground tank needs about 10 feet from buildings and lot lines).
IFC 6104.2 (Nevada SFM adopted)
Within the limits established by law restricting the storage of liquefied petroleum gas for the protection of heavily populated or congested areas, the aggregate capacity of any one installation shall not exceed a water capacity of 2,000 gallons (7570 L).
1 cities in Washoe County have their own fire regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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