Barnstable County, MA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Fireworks in Barnstable County are governed by Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) Chapter 148, Section 39 and the Comprehensive Fire Safety Code at 527 CMR 1.00. MGL c. 148, Sec. 39 prohibits any person from selling, keeping for sale, possessing, controlling, using, exploding, or causing to explode any combustible or explosive composition prepared to produce a visible or audible effect by combustion. The statute expressly covers firecrackers, cherry bombs, silver salutes, M-80s, sparklers, Roman candles, sky rockets, bottle rockets, blank cartridges, and toy cannons using explosives. Massachusetts is the only state in the nation that bans all consumer fireworks, including sparklers, and it is also illegal to purchase fireworks legally in another state (such as New Hampshire) and transport them into the Commonwealth. The only exceptions in Sec. 39 are: licensed public displays authorized by the State Fire Marshal and the head of the local fire department; transportation agencies using signals or illumination; licensed theatrical or stage productions; hunting, target shooting, and military uses; and farmers controlling crop damage with a permit under MGL c. 128, Sec. 13. Public displays must comply with 527 CMR 1.00 Chapter 65 (which adopts NFPA 1123 and 1124). Applicants file Form FP-027 (Application/Permit for Supervised Display of Fireworks) at least 20 days in advance with the head of the local fire department, who endorses it and forwards a copy to the State Fire Marshal within 5 days; minimum commercial general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence is required, and only a licensed display operator may shoot the show. In Barnstable County, applications are filed with each town's fire department (Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Dennis, Eastham, Falmouth, Harwich, Mashpee, Orleans, Provincetown, Sandwich, Truro, Wellfleet, Yarmouth). The Cape Cod National Seashore (managed by the National Park Service across the outer Cape) separately prohibits fireworks, fire lanterns, and drones on all seashore lands; designated open-beach campfires require a free advance permit, may not exceed 3 feet, and must be extinguished by 11:30 pm. Town beach regulations in Barnstable, Chatham, Wellfleet, and Provincetown likewise prohibit fireworks and unpermitted fires; Wellfleet imposes a $50 initial fine for beach-fire violations on top of state fireworks penalties. The State Department of Fire Services (DFS) provides 24/7 enforcement support to local fire departments, particularly during the July 4 holiday window.