Bristol Township, PA Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Section 140-5 of the Bristol Township Code, headed Recreational fires, is part of Chapter 140, Parks and Recreation Areas, adopted by the Board of Commissioners (now Township Council) on 9-19-1984 by Ord. No. 1067. It sets two conditions on a park fire. First, recreational fires may only be built in designated areas, so a fire anywhere else in a Township park is outside the rule. Second, the fire must be continually monitored and extinguished prior to leaving the site, which means no unattended or smoldering fire when the group departs. The section prints no distance in feet, no size limit and no fuel list.

Because the provision is in Chapter 140, it applies to Township parks and recreational facilities, which are open daily between 7:00 a.m. and sundown unless the Department of Parks and Recreation closes them or approves nighttime use (§ 140-1). Related park rules sit beside it. Fireworks and flare guns are strictly prohibited (§ 140-4(E)), and all trash, garbage, litter, refuse, rubbish and ashes must be deposited in the receptacles provided or removed from the park (§ 140-6).

A separate rule in Chapter 170 covers burning for disposal anywhere in the Township: § 170-17 states that no person shall burn or cause to be burned outdoors for purposes of disposal any municipal waste, yard waste, or recyclable materials. That section is about getting rid of waste, not about a cooking or gathering fire, and its penalty is in § 170-21. The quoted text of § 140-5 is the only recreational fire provision printed in the Township's code export for this page.