National City, CA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Chapter 10.16 of the National City Municipal Code is short and blunt. Section 10.16.010 makes it unlawful to discharge, fire, use, possess or store any or all types and manner of fireworks, including firecrackers, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, Roman candles, or any other fireworks or substances designed or intended for pyrotechnic displays, in the city. The verbs matter: possession and storage are banned along with setting a device off, so a resident holding fireworks that were never lit is already in violation.

Three neighboring sections widen the ban. Section 10.16.020 makes it unlawful to fire any pistol, cane, cannon or appliance using blank cartridges or caps containing chlorate of potash mixture for amusement or celebration. Section 10.16.030 prohibits the wholesale or retail sale or exhibition within the city, and the sale, use or possession, of gunpowder or explosives, and of combinations of chlorate of potash and sulphur or similar compounds, for celebration or amusement purposes.

The one path to a public show is section 10.16.040. The City Council, on application by any person, can issue a permit for a public display of fireworks under the direct supervision of a person examined and approved by the fire marshal. The display must be of such character, and so located, discharged or fired, that in the opinion of the City Council it is not hazardous to surrounding property and does not endanger any person.

Section 10.16.060 exempts religious ceremonies from regulation and permit processes except as it provides. Firecrackers must not exceed fifty milligrams of pyrotechnic composition and must be purchased, used and discharged by a licensed Restricted Commercial pyrotechnic operator, as defined in Title 19 of the California Administrative Code. The religious organization must secure a fireworks display permit from the fire department, supplying its name, the date and time, a diagram of the grounds with the exact display location, a certificate of insurance of three hundred thousand dollars for personal injury and property damage, the operator's name and license number, and the storage area for the fireworks before and during the display.