Cicero, IL Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Sec. 42-16 is Cicero's baseline rule for open flames: no person may kindle or maintain a bonfire, knowingly furnish materials for one, or authorize one to be kindled or maintained, whether on a street, alley, road, public grounds, or a private lot, unless a written permit has first been secured from the fire marshal. The section makes no distinction between a large bonfire and a smaller backyard fire pit: any open fire outside a building on private property falls under the permit requirement unless another Chapter 42 provision specifically exempts it.

The Bureau of Fire Prevention, which operates under the Fire Marshal per Sec. 42-5, administers these permits and enforces the Fire Prevention Codes, defined in Sec. 42-2 to include the International Fire Code, 2009 Edition, and NFPA 101. Because Sec. 42-16 sets no penalty of its own, a violation defaults to the Code's general penalty at Sec. 00, with each day a fire is maintained without a permit counted as a separate offense. Anyone denied a bonfire permit, or who believes the Fire Marshal misapplied the Fire Prevention Codes, can appeal to the Town President and Board of Trustees within 30 days under Sec. 42-4.