Kent County, DE Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)
Key Facts
- Section
- §168-23(O), Other prohibited activities
- Scope
- Fireworks, firearms and other explosives, all park land
- Maximum fine
- $100 per violation, §168-39(A)
- Enforcing agency
- Parks Division, Dept. of Community Services
- Related rule
- §168-24 bars firearms/fires except in designated areas
- Trial venue
- State court for the county, §168-39(D)
Summary
Kent County Code § 168-23(O) makes it unlawful to discharge or set off fireworks, firearms or other explosives anywhere in a county park. The Parks Division enforces the ban, and anyone caught faces the Chapter 168 general penalty of up to $100 per violation on top of losing any park permit held.
No person shall discharge or set off fireworks, firearms or other explosives.
Full Breakdown
The fireworks ban sits in § 168-23, titled 'Other prohibited activities,' a list of 21 conduct rules, lettered A through U, that apply on land administered by the Kent County Department of Community Services, Parks Division. ' The rule is absolute inside park boundaries: it carves out no holiday exception, no permitted-display exception, and no distinction between consumer fireworks and firearms, treating them as the same category of banned conduct. It complements § 168-24, which separately lists 'possession and use of firearms of any type' and 'fires of any kind' among activities barred everywhere in the parks except within areas the Division has specifically designated and subjected to special regulations, and § 168-31, which confines any open flame to established fireplaces and commercially made barbecue grills in picnic areas.
Together these sections mean a park visitor cannot legally set off fireworks anywhere on county park land, including at picnic pavilions, ballfields, or the parking areas the chapter also regulates. Chapter 168 applies only to land 'administered by the County' under its parks and recreation program; it does not reach fireworks use on private property or inside incorporated towns such as Dover, Smyrna or Milford, which enforce their own municipal codes, and Dover Air Force Base is federal property outside county jurisdiction.
Violations & Fines
A fireworks violation is punished under the Chapter 168 general penalty, Kent County Code § 168-39(A): a fine of not more than $100 for each offense where no other penalty is set. Under § 168-39(D) the case is tried in the state court for the county where the park lies, and § 168-39(C) layers on any separate state penalty if the same conduct also breaks Delaware's fireworks or explosives statutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I set off fireworks at a Kent County park picnic?
Does the park fireworks ban apply to Dover or Smyrna?
What is the penalty for setting off fireworks in a county park?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kent County
How Kent County compares: Cities Where Fireworks Are Banned or Heavily Restricted·Compare Kent County to another location·View the Delaware fire regulations overview
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