Dade City, FL Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 46-4(a) of the Dade City Code of Ordinances states that all open burning within the city limits is prohibited, then lists the only activities exempt from that citywide ban: barbecue grills or other devices specifically designed for food preparation; campfires and bonfires for recreational or ceremonial purposes, which need prior approval from city fire rescue under § 46-4(a)(2); fires that burn uprooted or cleared vegetation from a land-clearing operation permitted by the division of forestry, which require advance notice to city fire rescue and exclude yard trash; fires used for instructional and training purposes by organized firefighting programs meeting state requirements; and agricultural or silviculture burns permitted by the division of forestry, which also require advance notice to city fire rescue.

Even a burn that fits one of these five exceptions is still barred under § 46-4(b) from containing tires, rubber materials, tar, railroad crossties, creosoted lumber, plastics, waste, pesticide containers, food garbage, building materials or trash. Section 46-4(c) authorizes city fire rescue or the state division of forestry to extinguish any fire that is unauthorized, noncompliant, or found to be a nuisance or hazard to health or property, and § 46-4(d) makes a person responsible for unlawful open burning liable for the costs of controlling or extinguishing it.

The section originates in the 1956 code as § 10-7 and was rewritten into its current exception-based structure by Ord. No. 2000-0761, adopted November 28, 2000.