Lee's Summit, MO Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Sec. 13-44 amends the 2018 International Fire Code's open-flame provisions specifically for Lee's Summit. Before lighting either kind of fire, Sec. recreational fires," and that application "shall only be presented by and permits issued to the owner of the land upon which the fire is to be kindled," unless the applicant has the landowner's written permission or is acting as their agent. Sec. 32 restates the permit duty for open burning generally: "An operational permit is required for the kindling or maintaining of an open fire or a fire on any public street, alley, road, or other public or private ground.

Instructions and stipulations of the permit shall be adhered to. " For a ground-level fire pit, Sec. 2 sets the operative limits: no closer than 25 feet to a structure or combustible material, with anything within that radius that could let the fire spread cleared before ignition, and a pile size capped at 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height. A separate rule, Sec. 3, covers manufactured portable outdoor fireplaces (chimeneas, steel fire bowls and similar products): they must be "used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions" and kept at least 15 feet from a structure or combustible material, a shorter buffer than a ground fire because the unit contains the flame.

Sec. 1, the old bonfire provision, was deleted outright, leaving no separate bonfire allowance. Sec. " Enforcement runs through Sec. 4, and appeals of a fire code official's determination go to the Board of Appeals established under the Building Code, Chapter 7, Article 1.