Fire Regulations in Iowa (2026)

Des Moines requires a fire prevention bureau permit before any recreational backyard fire, unless it's a food-prep fire…

In the City of West Des Moines, only fire pits and portable outdoor fireplaces that produce no smoke may be used…

In Adair County's county parks and recreation areas only, fires may be built in fire rings or grills only. The same…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, recreational fires in chimineas, fire pits and screened containers are allowed under the…

Council Bluffs allows fire pits and other fire containment devices under CBMC 12.02.056, but only within limits: no…

Davenport allows backyard recreational wood fires without a permit if kept under eight feet wide, four feet high, at…

Section 6-9-2(A)(3) of the Dubuque City Code exempts outdoor cooking, small wood fires consistent with the…

Iowa City allows campfires, outdoor cooking fires and portable outdoor fireplaces without a burning permit, but only…

Sioux City lets residents use portable outdoor fireplaces, fire pits and chimineas without a permit, but only off…

Campfires and outdoor fireplaces in unincorporated Linn County are exempt from the open burning permit if they burn…

Iowa legalized consumer fireworks sales and use statewide in 2017, licensing sellers through the State Fire Marshal…

Ankeny bans using or exploding consumer fireworks anywhere in the city except July 3, July 4 and December 31, under…

Iowa legalized consumer fireworks in 2017 under Iowa Code Chapter 727. Des Moines allows consumer fireworks June 1–July…

Iowa City Code Section 8-5-12 bans the use or explosion of consumer or display fireworks within city limits despite…

Iowa Code §727.2 (HF 540, 2017) legalized consumer fireworks but lets counties limit use to July 3, July 4, and…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, consumer fireworks may only be used on the person's own property, or with the owner's…

In the City of Council Bluffs, consumer fireworks may be discharged only if the city council authorizes dates by…

Sioux City limits consumer fireworks discharge to your own property or with written consent, bans use entirely in…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, consumer fireworks may only be set off on July 3, July 4 and December 31, and only on…

The City of West Des Moines requires a Consumer Fireworks Retail Facility Permit before any retail or wholesale sale or…

Consumer fireworks are legal in Davenport only on July 3, July 4, and December 31 under Municipal Code 9.40.030. Any…

Dubuque allows consumer fireworks only on July 3, July 4, and December 31 during set hours, and only on your own…

Iowa legalized consumer fireworks in 2017, but every Johnson County community sharply limits when you may set them off…

Iowa allows consumer fireworks. Legal use June 1-July 8 and Dec 10-Jan 3 under Iowa Code Chapter 727. Cities may impose…

Davenport sits on the Mississippi, not in wildfire country, so there are no defensible-space zones. Owners must keep…

Iowa DNR regulates open burning statewide under IAC 567 Chapter 23.2, prohibiting burning of trash, plastics, and…

In the City of Council Bluffs it is unlawful to open burn refuse of any kind, from waste paper and garden waste to tree…

Open burning of refuse, rubbish, garbage, and landscape waste is prohibited in Des Moines under Polk County Air Quality…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, City Code § 4-3-7 makes accumulating solid waste in or about a building, cellar, street…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, burning garbage, refuse, leaves, landscape waste and other combustible material is…

The City of Ankeny bans open burning of combustible material unless the person obtains a permit and burns in accordance…

City Code section 6-9-2 makes it unlawful to burn or incinerate any solid waste in Dubuque except by permission of the…

Iowa City bans open fires citywide under code section 6-6-1, with fire department permits available only for narrow…

Unincorporated Linn County bans open burning of combustible materials unless the fire type is listed and a permit is…

Sioux City requires a fire code official's permit before any open burning on the ground or in an unapproved container…

In the City of West Des Moines, open burning requires approval from the Fire Code Official plus the county agency with…

Davenport bans open burning of leaves, garbage, and yard waste. Only clean wood can be burned, and only on a day the…

Iowa's DNR bans open burning of combustible materials by default, allowing landscape waste only on the premises where…

The state fire marshal may prohibit open burning across any designated area of Iowa during extremely dry conditions…

Linn County's property maintenance code requires smoke alarms in every covered dwelling with no exceptions: the county…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, every rental dwelling unit must have a working smoke alarm outside each sleeping area…

Ankeny's amended IBC Section 907.2.24 requires fire alarm systems and smoke alarms in Group R-4 residential care and…

Cedar Rapids requires single-station smoke alarms to run on building wiring with battery backup, but allows…

In the City of Council Bluffs, a rental tenant who discovers a non-functioning smoke detector must report it in writing…

Des Moines requires listed smoke alarms meeting UL 268 in R-1, R-2, R-4 and I-1 occupancies, with dwelling-unit alarms…

Dubuque City Code section 6-9-6, adopted by Ordinance 9-22 on March 7, 2022, requires multi-station smoke alarms on…

Iowa City requires smoke detectors approved by the Fire Marshal in every dwelling unit and rooming unit, placed on each…

Homes built or altered in unincorporated Johnson County follow the smoke alarm rules of the adopted 2021 International…

Sioux City's Housing Maintenance Code requires a working smoke detector on every floor level of a dwelling unit…

In the City of West Des Moines, every rental bedroom and every floor of a rental dwelling must have a working smoke…

Iowa Code Chapter 101 and the State Fire Marshal's LP-gas rules regulate propane storage, installation, and dispensing…

Iowa City's zoning performance standards flatly prohibit bulk storage of liquefied petroleum gas in every zone except…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, storing more than 100 pounds of liquefied petroleum gas is restricted in the city's…

Any LP-gas installation in Des Moines with 150 or more gallons of aggregate container capacity requires a fire…

Inside Sioux City's Fire Zones 1 and 2, its congested commercial core, no single liquefied petroleum gas installation…

Inside a licensed mobile home park in the City of Waterloo, residents can use natural or liquefied petroleum gas at…

In the City of West Des Moines, apartment and condominium units may have no more than one 20-pound propane cylinder…