Reading, PA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Chapter 225, rewritten in full in 2012 and again in 2018, bans igniting or discharging consumer fireworks on the streets of the City, the sidewalks of the City or any property owned by the City, including all of the City's parks and public buildings, without a permit from the City Fire Chief or his designee, under Section 225-101, tracking the Pennsylvania Fireworks Law, Act 43 of 2017. Section 225-104 goes further for aerial devices: it bans the use of all aerial fireworks, to include but not be limited to aerial mortar shells, mortar cakes, bottle rockets and Roman candles, calling that use strictly prohibited, regardless of the distance from the structure, with no permit path around it.

Selling fireworks anywhere in the City is separately banned by Section 225-103 unless the seller holds both an operational permit from the Fire Marshal and a license from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. A supervised public fireworks display is the one path to a real show: Section 225-105, last amended by Ordinance No. 10-2026 in February 2026, lets the Fire Marshal authorize a licensed operator to put one on, but only after the operator obtains a certificate of fitness and posts a bond or insurance of at least $1,000,000 covering damage the display might cause. Section 225-106 requires an operational permit and fee, set under Chapter 212, for any sale or use of fireworks generally.