Franklin County, NC Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Franklin County addresses fireworks through two separate chapters rather than a single fireworks ordinance. Section 14-59(9), part of the Noise Ordinance's exceptions list in Chapter 14, Article III, exempts noise from noisemakers and fireworks only on holidays or at times allowed under a pyrotechnics permit issued under G.S. 14-410 et seq., meaning fireworks noise outside a holiday or a state-authorized permit window is not exempt and can be charged under the general loud and disturbing noise standard in section 14-58(a), a Class III misdemeanor under section 14-56.

Separately, section 20-1(16) of the parks and recreation chapter makes it unlawful in any county park, recreation area, ballfield, court, trail or greenway to bring, possess, set off or otherwise cause to explode, discharge or burn firecrackers or other fireworks, explosives, or nonexplosive items such as sparklers, or to discharge or throw them into the area from adjacent land or a highway, except under a permit issued by the county commissioners. The park clause applies to explosives and sparklers alike and covers throwing devices into the park from outside it, not just setting them off inside, and a violation is a misdemeanor under section 20-6, punishable as a Class III misdemeanor.

Together the two sections mean fireworks use is permit-dependent everywhere in the county's own facilities and time-limited elsewhere in the unincorporated area, with the county commissioners controlling park permits and the state's G.S. 14-410 permit process controlling the noise exemption outside parks.