Fire Regulations in Indiana (2026)

Backyard recreational fires, campfires, and cookouts are allowed in Allen County without the open-burning distance…

Recreational campfires are allowed in Anderson under Indiana's rule 326 IAC 4-1-3: burn only clean wood, paper…

A backyard recreational fire in Carmel is allowed only as a compliant campfire, not as open burning. It must be at…

A backyard fire pit is treated as a recreational fire under IDEM rules that the Elkhart County Health Department…

Patio fire pits and chimineas stay legal in Evansville even when the City declares an open burning ban, but any…

Recreational and camp fires in Fort Wayne must stay within 36 inches across and 2 feet high, sit at least 25 feet from…

Residents of single- or double-family dwellings may burn only dried limbs, twigs and branches (not leaves) that…

Small recreational backyard fires are allowed under the state open-burning exemption, but only at homes of four or…

LaPorte County Code § 93.17 bans open fires in county parks except small culinary fires in park or privately owned…

South Bend allows recreational fires kept under three feet wide and two feet high. Fires must stay 25 feet from any…

St. Joseph County allows recreational campfires and cooking fires on residential property without a burn permit under…

Indiana Code 22-11-14 lets adults use consumer fireworks statewide and bars local bans; cities may only regulate days…

Vanderburgh County Code 12.24.010(U) bans bringing, possessing, or setting off fireworks anywhere on County Park…

Elkhart County bans discharging consumer fireworks in the unincorporated county except during specific holiday windows…

Evansville limits consumer fireworks to set windows around July 4th and New Year's, bans them outright on public…

Fishers, Indiana bans consumer fireworks except on a short list of state-mirrored dates and hours, mainly the days…

Allen County has no fireworks ordinance of its own, so Indiana state law governs unincorporated areas. Consumer…

Indiana law lets you discharge consumer fireworks in Anderson from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, extended to midnight on…

Indiana is a permissive fireworks state, consumer fireworks are legal statewide under IC 22-11-14, but Carmel restricts…

Fort Wayne restricts consumer fireworks to specific summer, holiday, and New Year's windows citywide, with no other…

It is unlawful to use, ignite or discharge consumer fireworks anywhere in the consolidated city except during the dates…

Consumer fireworks in unincorporated Lake County may only be used during set windows around Independence Day and New…

Porter County restricts consumer fireworks to specific dates and hours under County Code Sec. 14-96, allowing use only…

Consumer fireworks can only be set off in the unincorporated part of Tippecanoe County that falls within the Census…

Clark County's noise ordinance, Section 90.04, does not restrict fireworks: subsection (B)(7) exempts sounds associated…

Consumer fireworks are legal in South Bend but limited to set dates and hours: 5-11 PM June 29-July 9, 10 AM-midnight…

Consumer fireworks are legal for adults across St. Joseph County, and under Indiana Code 22-11-14-10.5 no county or…

Allen County permits burning brush, branches, and leaves only in rural residential and agricultural zones, only if the…

Indiana's open burning rule, 326 IAC 4-1, applies statewide. Section 4-1-2 prohibits open burning except as the rule…

Open burning is strictly prohibited within the City of Carmel. The only exceptions are outdoor propane and natural-gas…

Section 90.05 flatly prohibits any outdoor burning of wood, brush, trash, refuse or other burnable material by fires…

It is unlawful to cause, suffer or allow any open burning anywhere in Marion County except the limited purposes…

South Bend bans leaf, rubbish, and trash burning on any private or public property, and specifically bars burning on…

Evansville bans burning any material outdoors except in specific approved categories, and the City's Climate…

Fort Wayne bans trash, leaf, bonfire, and other open burning citywide, with narrow exemptions for permitted…

St. Joseph County bans open burning countywide unless the health officer grants written approval, and it prohibits leaf…

Vanderburgh County doesn't ban open burning outright; instead § 8.12.030 lets the Board of Commissioners declare an…

Allen County broadly restricts open burning: only wood products may be burned anywhere in the county, and burning is…

Anderson allows residential open burning only October through May, in a covered non-combustible container, during…

Open burning in Elkhart County follows Indiana IDEM rule 326 IAC 4-1. Burning household trash, plastic, and…

Open burning of trash and yard waste for disposal is banned statewide by Indiana's IDEM under 326 IAC 4-1. Small…

Open burning is prohibited statewide unless it fits an IDEM exemption. In Lake County, burning leaves, grass, sticks…

LaPorte County Code § 130.03 makes it unlawful to burn leaf or debris on the traveled or paved portion of any county…

Indiana bans nearly all open burning statewide; IC 13-17-9 carves out narrow exemptions for agricultural and…

Indiana has no Fire Hazard Severity Zone program like California. Hamilton County is a suburban Indianapolis county…

Allen County requires every family dwelling unit to have at least one working, labeled smoke detector, installed…

Indiana law (IC 22-11-18-3.5) requires every rental dwelling in Anderson to have a working smoke detector outside each…

Clark County requires smoke detectors in every dwelling rented for occupancy in the unincorporated county, with…

Every dwelling unit in Evansville must have at least one working smoke detector per story, installed within 15 feet of…

Every dwelling unit in Fort Wayne must have at least one working, labeled smoke detector per floor, placed near…

Indianapolis/Marion County Revised Code Sec. 591-421 (Chapter 591, Fire Prevention and Protection) and Indiana Code…

South Bend's smoke detector ordinance requires every multiple-dwelling unit and every family dwelling unit operated as…

Tippecanoe County has no standalone smoke alarm ordinance. County Code § 151.05(H) incorporates the Indiana Fire Code…

Every dwelling unit in Vanderburgh County must have at least one UL-listed smoke detector on each story, placed no more…

Indiana regulates propane through Chapter 61 of the 2014 Indiana Fire Code, adopted and amended statewide by the Fire…

Evansville adopts the Fire Code's liquefied-petroleum-gas chapter and lets the Board of Public Safety draw the citywide…

Fort Wayne businesses that keep above-ground or below-ground propane tanks must register an information permit with the…