Petaluma, CA Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Petaluma Municipal Code Section 17.20.050 adds Section 307.1.2, 'Use of Outdoor BBQs, Fireplaces and Fire Pits,' to the 2025 California Fire Code. The added section is short and direct: outdoor BBQs, fireplaces and fire pits must meet the requirements set out in the Petaluma Fire Department's own standards, which the same ordinance authorizes as 'a supplemental instruction and interpretation manual' for the Fire Code under Section 101.6. That means the operative day-to-day rules for spacing, permitted fuel types, hours of use and required clearance for a backyard fire pit or built-in outdoor fireplace live in the department's separately maintained standards document rather than in the printed Municipal Code text itself, so residents planning a fire pit or outdoor fireplace installation should confirm current specifications with the Fire Prevention Bureau before building or using one.

The section sits in Chapter 3, General Requirements, immediately after the city's defensible-space amendment (Section 304.1.2.1), reflecting that both provisions address ignition sources and fuel management around structures. Because the Fire Code Official is charged with amending the department's standards 'as necessary to maintain current instruction and interpretations,' the specific numeric limits are subject to change without amending Section 307.1.2 itself, and the ordinance is explicit that the standards 'shall not be construed to make new code requirements not authorized by this ordinance.'