Rochester, MN Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Rochester adopted the 2018 International Fire Code, with the state fire marshal's modifications under Minn. 011, as its local fire code under section 8-2-1, and any city rule that's more restrictive than the state code controls. Section 8-2-2(c) then defines "recreational fire" for purposes of that code with four conditions: the fire has to be for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking or a similar purpose, and can't be used to dispose of trees, brush, vegetation or other material; the fuel can't exceed three feet in diameter or two feet in height; it can't burn within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material; and it has to be continually attended with a method of extinguishment on hand.

A backyard fire pit that meets those four conditions doesn't need a permit. Burning yard waste, brush or construction debris is a different category, open burning, and it does need a fire department operational permit under section 8-2-6(b), valid for 30 days and renewable once at the fire code official's discretion; the permit costs a $75 application fee plus a $300 permit fee per location under section 8-2-4(g). Open burning for vegetation disposal is otherwise regulated by fire department policy, while projects like prairie restoration or buckthorn removal get case-by-case permit consideration from the fire code official.