Rochester Hills, MI Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

The prohibition sits inside Section 58-58(b)'s rewrite of International Fire Code Section 307, which the City adopted wholesale as 'The Fire Code of the City of Rochester Hills.' Open burning is defined broadly, covering paper, trees, stumps, brush, leaves, grass, construction materials, rubbish and any other debris burned in a way that sends smoke and other emissions straight into the air, and Section 307.6.3.1 prohibits every bit of it unless the fire code official has issued a permit first. Permits are not available to the general public for routine debris burning; Section 307.6.3.2 limits them to recognized silvicultural, range or wildlife-management practices, or work to prevent or control disease or pests, and only the owner of the land where the fire will be kindled can apply.

Once issued, the actual burning has to be carried out by a licensed and insured prescribed-burn contractor under Section 307.6.3.3, not by the landowner personally. Section 307.6.8 lets the code official refuse to allow burning when atmospheric conditions aren't conducive, and Section 307.6.9 requires any approved fire to be constantly attended with a portable extinguisher rated at least 4-A, or comparable equipment such as a garden hose or water barrel, on hand the whole time. If someone burns without a permit, or violates the terms of the one they have, Section 307.6.10 lets the fire department order the fire extinguished, and if the person can't put it out themselves, department crews will do it.

Separately, Section 307.6.6 allows open burning to warm sand or water for mixing mortar on a construction site, but that too needs its own permit issued to the contractor.