Dearborn County, IN Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Fireworks appear in the Dearborn County Code as the fourth item of § 96.01 Burning Ban. When the President of the Board of Commissioners declares a state of emergency necessitating a burn ban under I.C. 10-14-3-29, the usage of consumer fireworks can be prohibited, subject to I.C. 22-11-14-10.5. Without a declaration there is no county prohibition in this section.

Section 96.01(D) limits where and when that prohibition works. The prohibition on usage found in § 96.01(B)(4) applies only to the unincorporated areas of Dearborn County, so Lawrenceburg, Aurora, Greendale and the other incorporated places are not covered by it. Even in the unincorporated area, the usage of consumer fireworks may not be prohibited on three sets of dates and times. The first is between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and two hours after sunset on June 29, June 30, July 1, July 2, July 3, July 5, July 6, July 7, July 8 and July 9. The second is between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight on July 4. The third is between 10:00 a.m. on December 31 and 1:00 a.m. on January 1.

The code also defines the term. Section 96.01(E) adopts the definition of I.C. 22-11-14-1: a small firework designed primarily to produce visible effects by combustion that must comply with the construction, chemical composition and labeling regulations of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission under 16 CFR 1507. Consumer fireworks include aerial devices such as sky rockets, roman candles, mines and shells, and ground audible devices such as firecrackers, salutes and chasers. The definition excludes items such as dipped sticks or wire sparklers (total pyrotechnic composition may not exceed 100 grams per item), cylindrical fountains, cone fountains, illuminating torches, wheels, ground spinners, snakes or glow worms, smoke devices and trick noisemakers.