Worcester County, MD Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Section PS 1-410(d), added 6-4-2002 by Bill No. 02-8, is the County's own fireworks rule. It works in addition to fireworks prohibited by state law and targets ground-based sparkling devices, including without limitation cylindrical or cone fountains, whether aerial or non-aerial and whether explosive or non-explosive. Possession is prohibited in Worcester County except in one case: a device that is non-aerial and nonexplosive, labeled in accordance with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission requirements, and producing a visual effect of no more than twelve feet in height.

Sales are narrower still. Those legal devices can be sold only in fully enclosed retail establishments, and only upon the approval of the Worcester County Fire Marshal after an application is filed and application fees are paid. The fees are set from time to time by resolution of the County Commissioners. The Code says no ground-based sparkling devices can be sold from a roadside stand or other temporary sales outlet in the County, which rules out tent and parking-lot fireworks sales.

Enforcement runs through Subtitle IV, Fire Prevention Regulations. The Fire Marshal or authorized deputies make the inspections needed to enforce the Fire Prevention Code under § PS 1-403(b), and every written, signed complaint is investigated, with a written decision due within ten days of receipt under § PS 1-404(c). Notices go to the owner and to any occupant who created the condition under § PS 1-405. Failure to comply with a notice is a separate violation, and the Fire Marshal, with the consent of the County Commissioners, can start legal proceedings to stop or correct the condition. Section PS 1-408 adopts the State Fire Prevention Code as part of the County's Fire Prevention Code.