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

Section 40-35 of Article V, Open Burning, allows the burning of clean, dry and seasoned wood without a permit, limited to recreational fires, portable outdoor fireplaces and cooking fires, subject to the article's prohibitions. For recreational fires, § 40-35A requires the fire to be contained in a fire ring or pit. The code defines RECREATIONAL FIRE as an outdoor fire burning materials other than prohibited materials, with a total fuel area of three feet or less in diameter and two feet or less in height, for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth or similar purposes.

Section 40-35B governs portable outdoor fireplaces: they are used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and are not operated within 15 feet of a structure. Section 40-35D caps the fuel load of a fire permitted under the section at a space measuring three feet in diameter and two feet in height, except as permitted under § 40-37. Section 40-35E sets the location for burning at not less than 15 feet from any structure, with provisions made to prevent the fire from spreading to within 15 feet of any structure, and not less than 15 feet from any property line, with provisions made to prevent spreading to within 15 feet of any property line. The distances apply unless otherwise specified in the article or directed by the Department of Code Enforcement.

Three related rules apply to every fire pit. Under § 40-33A and B, the fire must be constantly attended by a competent person of at least 16 years of age with water, sand or fire extinguishers immediately available. Under § 40-34C, prohibited materials, meaning garbage, food waste, refuse and anything classified as solid waste, municipal waste, recyclable materials or leaf waste, cannot be burned in recreational fires or portable outdoor fireplaces. And under § 40-33C a Fire Code Official burn ban shuts down fires that § 40-35 would otherwise allow. A fire larger than the size limit is a bonfire, which needs a permit and wider distances under § 40-36.