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

Section 24.102 adopts the International Fire Code, 2021, in its entirety and as amended in Chapter 24 as the Fire Prevention Code of the Village of Mount Prospect. Subsection C deletes the exception in IFC section 307.4.3 and writes the Village's own rule in its place. That rule sets three distances for fire rings and fire pits, portable and non-portable alike.

The first tier covers a pit that has a spark flame arrestor. It must be used in accordance with the manufacturer's operating instructions and cannot be operated within 15 feet of a structure. The second tier catches every pit that does not meet those requirements: it must be a minimum of 25 feet from a structure and must also meet IFC section 307.4, exception 2, which the Village text cites by number without restating. The third tier is an exception for gas supplied fire rings and fire pits. Those follow the manufacturer's operating instructions, cannot be operated within 10 feet of a structure, and must be provided with a remote shutoff control valve. Every distance in the text is tied to a structure.

The Fire Prevention Bureau of the Mount Prospect Fire Department enforces the Fire Prevention Code. The Bureau operates under the supervision of the Fire Chief, who is designated the Fire Official. Wherever the International Fire Code says "Code Official", the Village Code substitutes the phrase "Chief of the Mount Prospect Fire Department". Subsection B makes the appendices of the International Fire Code mandatory requirements, not advisory information, and subsection G keeps a copy of the adopted codes on file in the Office of the Village Clerk.

Two neighboring rules also govern open burning in the Village. Section 23.110 B makes it unlawful to build or light any bonfire so close to any building or structure as to endanger it, on any public street, sidewalk, pavement or other public place or property, or within twenty feet (20') of a sidewalk. Section 24.115 makes it unlawful for any person to burn any leaves, rubbish, yard debris or waste material within the Village, so yard waste cannot go into the pit.