Outdoor burning rules in Philadelphia, PA — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Open burning is broadly prohibited in Philadelphia. The Air Management Code (Section 3-202) bans open fires except for outdoor home cooking (barbecue cooking), and the Fire Code (Section 307) prohibits open burning unless specifically approved by the fire code official. Pennsylvania air-quality regulation 25 Pa. Code Section 129.14 independently restricts open burning statewide.
As confirmed by Philadelphia L&I Code Bulletin F-0602 R1, 'The Air Management Code, in Section 3-202, prohibits open fires, except for outdoor home cooking (barbecue cooking)' and 'Section 3-202 prohibits the burning of any waste material.' Section 3-102 defines 'open fires' as fires producing products of combustion emitted directly into the atmosphere without passing through a stack or chimney. Separately, 'The Fire Code, in Section 307, prohibits open burning, except by approval' - written approval from the fire code official is required before kindling fires for silvicultural, range, wildlife-management, or disease/pest-control purposes, or a bonfire. Statewide, 25 Pa. Code Section 129.14 (the Department of Environmental Protection's open-burning rule) prohibits open burning whose emissions are visible past the property line, are malodorous, interfere with the reasonable enjoyment of life or property, damage vegetation or property, or may be deleterious to human or animal health - with narrow exceptions for fires set 'for recreational or ceremonial purposes only' and fires 'for cooking food only.'
Where open burning creates or adds to a hazardous situation, or a required Fire Code permit was not obtained, the fire code official is authorized to order the operation extinguished (Fire Code Section 307.3), and violations are citable under Philadelphia Code Title 4. Burning waste material violates Air Management Code Section 3-202 and may be enforced by the Air Management Services division.
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