Largo, FL Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 13-23 governs all incineration, bonfires and outdoor rubbish fires citywide. Subsection (a) requires a permit or other authorization from the city manager, fire chief, or a duly authorized representative before anyone kindles or maintains a bonfire or rubbish fire on any public street, alley, road, or public or private property, and separately requires a permit before burning waste materials or demolition debris during construction or demolition work. Subsection (b) sets a location rule for any fire authorized on private land: it must sit at least 50 feet from any structure, or such other distance as the fire department approves, and the site must have adequate provision to keep the fire from spreading to a structure.

Subsection (c) requires constant attendance by a competent person for the entire time the fire burns, and that person must keep on hand either a hose connected to a water supply with sufficient capacity to control the fire, or other fire extinguishing equipment capable of controlling it, until the fire is completely out. Subsection (d) gives the fire chief, a fire inspector, or an authorized fire department representative discretion to prohibit any or all bonfires and outdoor rubbish fires outright when atmospheric conditions, such as drought or high wind, or local circumstances make such fires hazardous or a public nuisance, functioning as the city's local burn-ban authority layered on top of the state Florida Fire Prevention Code adopted by Section 13-19.