Philadelphia County, PA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

Pennsylvania does not maintain a statewide Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) mapping system equivalent to California Government Code §51175-51189 or Cal Fire's Fire Hazard Severity Zones. Philadelphia County is consolidated with the City of Philadelphia and operates under a single fire code — the Philadelphia Fire Code (Title 4 of the Philadelphia Code of Ordinances, adopting the 2018 International Fire Code with amendments). The Philadelphia Fire Department enforces the code citywide; the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry (PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, DCNR) retains statewide wildfire-prevention authority under 17 Pa. C.S. §6110 but does not impose site-specific defensible-space rules on urban Philadelphia. Open burning is heavily restricted under Philadelphia Code §10-717 and Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control regulations at 25 Pa. Code §129.14. Fairmount Park, Wissahickon Valley Park, and Pennypack Park are managed by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and FDNY for brush-fire response. California-style 100-foot defensible-space clearing rules do not exist in PA. Private property owners must still maintain vegetation under Philadelphia's Property Maintenance Code §PM-302 and clear within 10 feet of structures per IFC §304.