West Des Moines, IA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

West Des Moines spans four counties, so the City Code splits open-burning approval by which county a property sits in rather than treating the whole city the same way. Section 4-3-4 of the West Des Moines City Code, which adopts and amends the 2024 International Fire Code, adds section 307.2.1.1, Responsible Agencies for Open Burning. Inside Polk County, a resident or business must get sign-off from the Polk County Water, Air and Waste Management Department in addition to the West Des Moines Fire Code Official before burning.

On land in Dallas County, Warren County or Madison County, the second approval instead comes from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The ordinance also addresses growth: any land annexed into the city in the future must still route through whichever county's Water, Air and Waste Management Department has jurisdiction, and/or the DNR, plus the Fire Code Official, so the two-agency approval chain follows the property rather than resetting when city limits move. In practice this means a homeowner cannot simply call the Fire Prevention Bureau; the county or state environmental agency's air-quality sign-off is a separate, required step before any open burn, and the Fire Code Official's approval alone does not satisfy the ordinance. The Fire Prevention Bureau, under the Fire Chief, enforces the fire code citywide under City Code § 4-3-2.