Sevier County, TN Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

In unincorporated Sevier County (outside Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and Pittman Center), fireworks are governed by the Tennessee Fireworks Act at TCA 68-104-101 et seq. Permissible 'consumer fireworks' are those that meet the construction, chemical composition, and labeling standards of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (16 CFR Parts 1500 and 1507) and APA Standard 87-1, including fountains, sparklers, Roman candles, and aerial shells within the size and powder limits set by federal rule. The Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office, within the Department of Commerce and Insurance, licenses wholesalers, manufacturers, jobbers, distributors, retailers, and seasonal retailers under TCA 68-104-102 and adopts implementing rules at Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-15. Seasonal retailers may sell fireworks each year only from June 20 through July 5 and from December 10 through January 2. Year-round permanent retail permits are available under separate licensing. Consumer fireworks may not be sold to anyone under 16 (TCA 68-104-112). Display fireworks ('special fireworks') may be used only by a licensed pyrotechnic operator under TCA 68-104-211. State law at TCA 68-104-112 prohibits sale or use of certain devices regardless of local rules — including ground salutes such as M-80s, cherry bombs, silver salutes, large firecrackers, and altered, defective, or homemade fireworks — and prohibits use within 600 feet of a church, hospital, or school and within 200 feet of any place where fireworks are stored. The use of any consumer fireworks remains subject to general state and county nuisance, reckless burning, and arson statutes (e.g., TCA 39-14-301 et seq.). Sevier County does not have a standalone county fireworks ordinance restricting hours or locations of discharge in unincorporated areas, so users default to state law. The Sevier County Fire Marshal's Office, the Sevier County Sheriff's Office, and the Tennessee Division of Forestry coordinate during elevated fire-danger periods. Following the 2016 Chimney Tops 2 wildfire — which started inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park and spread into Gatlinburg and surrounding Sevier County areas, killing 14 people and destroying or damaging more than 2,500 structures — local officials have routinely issued temporary burn bans during dry, high-wind periods. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture's Division of Forestry also requires a state burn permit from October 15 through May 15 for outdoor debris burning, and a state-issued burn ban suspends those permits. While these burn bans focus on open burning, county and city public safety officials have explicitly asked residents and visitors not to use consumer fireworks during active burn-ban periods because of wildfire risk, particularly in the wildland-urban interface near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park boundary. Discharge of fireworks inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park is independently prohibited by federal law at 36 CFR 2.38.