8 rules for unincorporated York County, Pennsylvania.
Verified from official government sources
York County does not zone or permit residential fire pits; that is set by your borough or township. In York County parks, fires are allowed only in Director-approved fireplaces and must be charcoal or wood.
York County Code Sec. 75-10
No Person Shall... Build any fire within the Park System, except within the fireplaces approved and designated by the Director, for such purpose. All fires shall be of charcoal or wood.
Pennsylvania's Act 74 of 2022 governs fireworks statewide, not York County. Adults 18+ may buy and use consumer (1.4G) fireworks, but never within 150 feet of an occupied structure, on public property, or on another person's property without permission.
72 P.S. Sec. 9404
A person who is at least 18 years of age... may purchase, possess, and use consumer fireworks. It is unlawful to ignite or discharge consumer fireworks within 150 feet of an occupied structure.
York County sets no defensible-space or brush-clearance mandate; south-central Pennsylvania is not a designated wildfire-code region. Vegetation and weed clearing near structures is a municipal property-maintenance matter, while land-disturbance for clearing is regulated for erosion by the York County Conservation District.
Everyday open burning is regulated by your municipality and by PA DEP (25 Pa. Code Sec. 129.14). York County's Board of Commissioners can, and does, impose a temporary 30-day countywide burn ban during dry conditions that supersedes any municipal ordinance.
York County Resolution 2023-29
Do hereby establish a temporary 30-day county-wide ban on any and all open burning. This burn ban shall supersede any municipal ordinance to the contrary.
York County is not in a designated wildfire hazard zone and Pennsylvania has no Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) code. There are no defensible-space or fire-hardening building mandates here. Wildfire risk is managed through DCNR forest-fire wardens and the county's drought burn bans.
Smoke and CO alarm requirements come from Pennsylvania statewide law, not York County. The PA Uniform Construction Code (IRC R314) requires smoke alarms in new and permitted work, and the Carbon Monoxide Alarm Standards Act (35 P.S. Sec. 7221 et seq.) requires CO alarms in fossil-fuel or garage rentals.
Recreational backyard fires are allowed under DEP rules when used solely for cooking or recreation, but the specific setbacks and container rules come from your borough or township, not York County. A countywide burn ban overrides everything during dry spells.
25 Pa. Code Sec. 129.14
The following types of burning are exempt... fires set solely for cooking food... fires set for recreational or ceremonial purposes.
Propane storage is regulated by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, which adopts the International Fire Code and NFPA 58, not by a separate York County rule. Container size, placement, and clearances follow those statewide codes and are enforced by your municipality.
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