Fire Regulations in New York (2026)

Albany City Code § 197-5 requires any yard fire to sit inside a fireproof enclosure, stay at least 10 feet from any…

Buffalo bans all open, unconfined fires on private premises without written permission from both the Bureau of Fire…

Schenectady makes it unlawful to kindle or keep any open fire unless it burns in an approved fireproof receptacle: a…

Backyard fire pits and camp fires in the Town of Amherst don't need a permit, but Code § 36-5 caps them at three feet…

Brookhaven exempts backyard recreational fires that comply with the New York State Fire Code from any town permit, but…

Town of Hempstead Code § 78-10 confines fires in Town parks to Department-provided fireplaces or portable grills owners…

Huntington allows recreational fires such as backyard fire pits only if they stay under three feet in diameter and two…

Small backyard recreational fires are permitted in the Town of Islip under New York's 6 NYCRR Part 215, but residential…

Small contained recreational fires using clean dry wood or charcoal are generally allowed if under 3 ft high and 4 ft…

Small recreational fire pits are generally allowed under NY DEC rules if under 3 ft high and 4 ft in diameter, burning…

New York City lets homeowners keep a wood-burning fire pit only in a backyard at a detached one- or two-family house…

North Hempstead requires stationary outdoor fireplaces, fire pits, and barbecues to sit at least 10 feet from side and…

Any backyard bonfire or outdoor rubbish fire in unincorporated Ramapo needs a Town permit, must sit at least 50 feet…

Rochester requires an annual operating permit from the Fire Safety Division for open burning, flames, torches, candles…

Suffolk County does not regulate backyard recreational fires county-wide; jurisdiction falls to New York State…

Small recreational fire pits with clean dry wood or charcoal are generally allowed if attended and kept small. Must…

Broome County's Sanitary Code lets residents build campfires and light outdoor grills without a county permit, as long…

Cheektowaga allows recreational fires and campfires as long as only natural wood is burned, the fire follows the 2020…

Monroe County allows campfires and recreational fires under its Open Burning Control law as long as they don't create a…

Recreational wood fire pits are allowed in Saratoga Springs, but City Code § 126-6 flatly prohibits burning garbage…

Ulster County's Fire Code operating-permit rule for open burning specifically excludes recreational fires and portable…

New York Penal Law bans most consumer fireworks statewide. Ground-based sparkling devices are legal by default outside…

Consumer fireworks are illegal in Albany under NY Penal Law §270.00. Although sparklers and ground-based sparkling…

Consumer fireworks are illegal everywhere in the Town of Islip. New York Penal Law Section 270.00 makes possessing or…

Consumer fireworks are illegal throughout New York City. New York Penal Law Section 270.00 makes possessing, using or…

Personal fireworks are prohibited in Buffalo. Commercial fireworks at special events require permits and compliance…

New York bans consumer fireworks, but Oneida County opted in to allow ground-based and handheld sparkling devices. In…

Brookhaven property owners, occupants and anyone in control of private land must cut, trim or remove brush, grass and…

Monroe County follows NY DEC Part 215 seasonal burn ban (March 16 to May 14). Property owners must keep lots clear…

Mount Vernon is a fully built-out urban city with no wildland-urban interface, so there is no defensible-space brush…

New Rochelle requires property owners to keep lots free of overgrown brush, weeds, and combustible debris under its…

When a City of Oneida property owner ignores a written notice to cut overgrown weeds, grass, or brush, a Code…

Westchester has no county-level defensible space ordinance. NYS Property Maintenance Code requires yards clear of…

White Plains has no defensible-space ordinance (not a wildland area). Property maintenance code requires removal of…

No New York City-specific ordinance imposes wildland-style defensible-space or brush-clearance requirements; the dense…

Yonkers is an urban municipality with no defensible-space brush-clearance mandate. Property owners must keep lots free…

Chapter 36 of the Amherst Town Code bans burning any materials in an open fire anywhere in town outside the Village of…

New York State imposes an annual residential brush-burning prohibition from March 16 through May 14, which applies to…

Cheektowaga bans open burning of brush, wood, lumber, paper, plastic, tires, chemicals, trash, garbage and other refuse…

Open burning is broadly banned in the Town of Islip. New York's statewide rule, 6 NYCRR Part 215, prohibits burning any…

Open burning of brush, leaves, or trash is prohibited in Mount Vernon. The city's extreme density (4 sq mi, 73,000…

Open burning of brush and yard waste is banned statewide from March 16 through May 14 under NY DEC Part 215. Trash…

Open burning is broadly prohibited in New York City under both state and city law. New York State regulation 6 NYCRR…

North Hempstead bans open fires on streets, roads, sidewalks and public places outright, and even on private property…

Saratoga Springs flatly prohibits burning garbage, rubbish, or refuse in an open fire anywhere in the city under City…

Smithtown Code § 164-38 bans kindling or maintaining any bonfire or rubbish fire on public property such as parks…

Syracuse's Property Conservation Code flatly bans outdoor fires fueled by trash, yard waste, construction debris or…

Westchester County's Sanitary Code bans open burning countywide unless the fire falls under a narrow permit exception…

Open burning of brush and yard waste is banned in White Plains year-round as a densely populated area under NY DEC…

Yonkers City Code § 59-45 bars anyone from setting fire to hay, leaves, wood, refuse or any other combustible material…

Open burning and bonfires are banned in Brookhaven unless the fire complies with the Fire Code of New York State and…

Buffalo prohibits all open, unconfined fires on any public or private property without written permission from both the…

Clarkstown bans any offensive or unpermitted outdoor fire outside an approved cooking grill or stove. Burning without…

Burning trash, lumber, branches, straw, paper or any other combustible material outdoors is illegal in the Town of…

Huntington bans open burning anywhere in town if the fire pile exceeds three feet in diameter or two feet in height…

Monroe County bans open burning of refuse except for specific permitted activities like grills, campfires and…

Rochester's Smoke and Air Pollution Control chapter declares dense smoke, defined as No. 2 or greater on the Ringelmann…

Inside the Village of Spring Valley, Code § 23-11 requires an operating permit before conducting open burning under…

Schenectady bans open fires anywhere in the city unless they are contained in an approved fireproof receptacle: a gas…

Albany City Code § 197-5 requires any yard fire to burn inside a fireproof enclosure, stay under adult supervision, and…

The City of Oneida, Madison County, New York requires an operating permit from the Fire Marshal to conduct open burning…

New York's Environmental Conservation Law Section 9-1105 makes it unlawful to set any open fire burning brush, leaves…

Westchester is not a designated high wildfire hazard area. NYS DEC tracks fire danger countywide; northern rural towns…

White Plains is not in a designated wildfire zone. Westchester suburbs have minimal wildland-urban interface risk. NY…

New York City does not map wildfire hazard zones or impose defensible-space rules. Its only wildfire-specific law…

Monroe County is not designated a high wildfire hazard area. No defensible space requirements. NY DEC Part 215 brush…

New Rochelle is not located in a designated wildfire hazard zone. The city is urban/suburban coastal along Long Island…

Orange County NY has moderate wildfire risk concentrated in the Hudson Highlands, Shawangunk Ridge, and Harriman/Bear…

Yonkers is not in a designated wildfire zone. New York does not maintain WUI (wildland-urban interface) fire hazard…

Saratoga Springs requires the correct number of working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in every short-term rental…

Amherst's Property Maintenance Code requires smoke detectors to be installed and maintained in accordance with all…

Town of Babylon rental units need a smoke detector in every bedroom, every hallway leading to a bedroom, and on every…

Any Brookhaven building with sleeping accommodations must have an approved automatic smoke detection and alarm device…

Every owner of an occupied dwelling unit in Buffalo must install and maintain smoke detectors; new multiple dwellings…

Colonie Code § 20-22 requires an approved automatic smoke-detection and alarm device in or adjacent to every sleeping…

Glen Cove's Housing Standards require every residential building in existence on or before January 1, 2003 to have a…

Every one-family, two-family and multiple dwelling in the Town of Greece must have at least one smoke detection device…

Greenburgh requires every building to have smoke- and heat-detection devices meeting NFPA 72 and the Uniform Code, with…

Every residential dwelling unit in Huntington must have working smoke alarms regardless of occupant load. Section…

Every multiple-unit dwelling, multiple-residence facility and mixed-use commercial residence building in Islip must…

Every Mount Vernon short-term rental must have a functioning smoke detector inside each sleeping room plus one on the…

New York City law requires owners of class A and B multiple dwellings and private rental units to install an approved…

Before the Town will issue or renew a rental occupancy permit in North Hempstead, the Code Enforcement Officer must…

Every rental and multiple dwelling in the City of Oneida, Madison County, New York must have approved smoke detectors…

Before a dwelling unit can be occupied or rented in Orange County, Article III, Section 3(e) of the Sanitary Code…

Ramapo's Zoning Code requires every dwelling unit created by converting a single-family home in the R-15C District to…

Rochester's Property Code requires hardwired, interconnected smoke alarms audible throughout the structure in one- and…

Schenectady requires at least one single-station smoke-detecting alarm adjacent to the sleeping spaces of every…

Smithtown Code § 164-36 requires every building or structure with sleeping accommodations, including single- and…

Syracuse's Property Conservation Code requires smoke detectors in every one- and two-family home, multiple dwelling…

Yonkers City Code § 59-40A(9) makes it unlawful for any owner, tenant, contractor or their agents to fail to install or…

Schenectady's Housing Standards flatly prohibit storing undiluted liquefied petroleum gas in liquid form inside any…

New York City limits LPG (propane) storage in one- to three-family and multiple-dwelling occupancies to four containers…

Storing more than 40 pounds of liquefied petroleum gas in Albany requires a Building Department permit, and citywide…

Amherst Code § 83-5-3 requires a fire prevention permit for any liquefied petroleum gas installation over 1,000…

A fixed home propane tank over 100 gallons' water capacity needs Chief Fire Marshal approval before installation, under…

Buffalo caps liquefied petroleum gas storage at 300 pounds before a license kicks in. Keep more than that, or install a…

Cheektowaga requires a fire code permit for any liquefied petroleum gas installation over 500 gallons' water capacity…

Clarkstown caps aboveground propane tanks at 1,000 gallons water capacity and requires a certificate of compliance for…

Glen Cove's Housing Standards ban storing liquefied petroleum gas in liquid form inside buildings and require odorized…

Outside its villages, the Town of Hempstead caps residential propane storage at 500 gallons water capacity before Town…

The Town of Huntington requires anyone who stores, handles, dispenses or uses liquefied petroleum gas to first obtain…

The Town of Islip requires a Chief Fire Marshal permit for any location that sells, stores for rental or resale, or…

Mount Vernon's Liquefied Petroleum Gases chapter fixes minimum setback distances for every propane container based on…

New Rochelle requires a Fire Commissioner permit for any liquefied petroleum gas installation over 1,000 pounds water…

The City of Oneida, Madison County, New York regulates liquefied petroleum gas installations under Housing Standards §…

Oyster Bay's zoning code lets homeowners locate a screened propane tank up to 8 feet into a side or rear yard, but…

Rochester requires any street food vending unit using propane to store the tanks outdoors or in a vented…

Smithtown's Fire Prevention code regulates where liquefied petroleum gas containers can be kept, barring propane tanks…

Syracuse's Property Conservation Code sets handling rules for liquefied petroleum gas systems under Section 27-53(f)…

Utica's Fire Prevention chapter requires all LP-gas (propane) equipment in the city to be installed by a qualified…

Any residential propane or LP-gas installation in Yonkers needs a Fire Commissioner permit before hookup, no matter how…