West Bloomfield, MI Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Sec. 11-79(b) of the Township Code permits outdoor burning of charcoal or clean dry wood in a fire pit installed on the ground, provided it is lined with stone, brick, metal, or similar non-combustible material designed to contain the fire and keep it from spreading; that lining also has to make the pit readily identifiable as a fire pit area. Beyond the physical design, the section imposes fixed distances: the pit must be at least twenty-five feet from the nearest building that is not on the same property, at least fifteen feet from any structure on the same lot, at least fifteen feet from a woodland mapped under the zoning ordinance's Sec.

2.1.127, and it cannot sit inside a wetland defined in Sec. 12-5. In attached multiple-family developments, where fire risk to adjoining units is higher, the setback from an attached dwelling unit is also twenty-five feet. The total fuel area is capped at three feet in diameter and two feet in height, matching the 'recreational fire' definition in Sec. 11-77. A fire pit must be constantly attended until extinguished and a functioning fire extinguisher kept within reach. Gas or propane fire pits are also allowed under this subsection but only after a building permit with construction plans is obtained, the same process required for a permanent outdoor stove.

These standards sit alongside the township's separate bonfire rules in Sec. 11-81, which cover larger, permit-free events capped at a six-foot fuel diameter and four feet in height, kept fifty feet from any structure, and prohibited when wind exceeds ten miles per hour.