Fire Regulations in Virginia (2026)

Alexandria requires a fire official's permit before anyone kindles an open fire, including a backyard fire pit or…

Virginia Beach allows open burning and backyard bonfires only under the state fire code, requires constant monitoring…

In Albemarle County outside Charlottesville and Scottsville, a backyard fire pit, campfire or cooking fire counts as…

Arlington County allows permanently built outdoor fireplaces, bar-b-ques, and recreational fires under the Fire…

Fairfax County bars fire pits, chimineas, outdoor fireplaces and other portable solid-fuel devices from balconies or…

Hampton allows small recreational fires without a permit, but caps the burning fuel area at three feet by two feet…

Henrico County treats a patio chiminea or fire pit as a controlled burning device, not open burning, so no permit is…

Loudoun County bans general open burning from May 1 through September 30, but its Fire Prevention Code carves out an…

Recreational campfires are exempt from Lynchburg's open burning ban under City Code Sec. 4-62(b), covering fires used…

Small backyard recreational fires (three feet or less across, two feet or less high) are allowed without a permit but…

Stafford County allows recreational fires such as campfires, warming fires and bonfires when the fuel is seasoned dry…

Suffolk allows backyard recreational fires without a permit, but a recreational fire may not exceed 3 feet in diameter…

Chesterfield exempts campfires, ceremonial fires and other blazes used solely for recreational purposes from its…

Frederick County allows cooking and recreational fires, including campfires, as an explicit exception to its…

Hanover County Code Section 9-12.1 lets a resident keep a recreational fire, capped at 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in…

Roanoke's open burning ban carves out recreational fires, such as backyard fire pits, as long as the fire follows the…

Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem) exempts camp fires and recreational fires from its…

Spotsylvania County exempts backyard bonfires and campfires from its open burning permit under County Code Sec…

Virginia prohibits the sale, possession, or use of most aerial and explosive fireworks statewide, restricting consumers…

Albemarle County bans transporting, manufacturing, storing, selling, buying, possessing, or discharging firecrackers…

Alexandria bans the storage, sale, possession, or discharge of any fireworks within the city limits: including…

Arlington County bans manufacturing, transporting, storing, selling, or discharging fireworks anywhere in the county…

Chesapeake prohibits most consumer fireworks under local ordinance, despite VA Code 27-97 permitting certain types…

Chesterfield bans consumer fireworks outright: Fire Prevention Code Sec. 5601.1.3.1 says permissible fireworks 'shall…

The City of Fairfax prohibits the sale, possession, and use of all consumer fireworks within city limits despite…

Fairfax County makes it unlawful to transport, manufacture, store, possess, sell, buy, use, ignite or explode any…

Virginia law prohibits the use of aerial fireworks and firecrackers by consumers. Hampton enforces state law and also…

Hanover County Code Section 9-16 makes it a class 1 misdemeanor to sell, expose for sale, use or discharge fireworks…

Despite Virginia legalizing consumer fireworks statewide in 2021, Fairfax County (which includes Herndon) continues to…

Norfolk prohibits all consumer fireworks within city limits despite Virginia state permissiveness. Only fireworks…

Portsmouth bans manufacturing, selling, storing, and using or exploding fireworks anywhere in the city under § 13-105…

Consumer fireworks are prohibited in Richmond. Although Virginia Code 27-97 allows localities to permit fireworks…

Stafford County bans manufacturing fireworks outright and makes it unlawful to transport, store, possess, sell, buy…

Suffolk bans consumer fireworks. Under City Code Sec. 38-142, it is unlawful to sell, use, or explode any fireworks…

Consumer fireworks are illegal in Virginia Beach and throughout most of the Commonwealth under Virginia Code Section…

Lynchburg's fire marshal can trigger a citywide fireworks ban through the city manager, announced publicly and lasting…

Montgomery County requires a county administrator permit before any fireworks display under Article II of Chapter 4…

Newport News bans fireworks outright without a fire marshal permit. Owning, selling, possessing, storing, displaying…

Roanoke County Code § 15-7(10) bans carrying, shooting, firing, exploding or throwing fireworks, firecrackers, rockets…

Spotsylvania County bans fireworks displays without a fire marshal permit under Article II of Chapter 9, requiring a…

Anyone selling fireworks or explosives from a temporary stand in Frederick County must first clear the Fire Marshal's…

Henrico bans possessing, selling, storing, or using any fireworks, including 'permissible' fountains and sparklers…

Virginia legalized consumer fireworks in 2021 (HB 2201, VA Code §27-97). Loudoun County may restrict discharge hours…

Only Virginia "permissible fireworks" (sparklers, fountains, ground spinners) may be used by the public. Anything that…

Roanoke's noise ordinance bars firing explosives, fireworks or similar devices that create impulsive sound across a…

Before burning brush, grass, or debris, Henrico requires you to cut and pile it or clear the ground around it and…

On residential or commercial lots of two acres or less, grass and weeds over 12 inches tall are not allowed. Owners get…

Suffolk requires owners to cut grass, weeds, and foreign growth once it averages 10 inches, and to remove trash and…

Virginia prohibits outdoor burning before 4 PM from February 15 through April 30 each year when fire is within 300 feet…

Arlington County's Fire Prevention Code flatly bans burning leaves and yard waste anywhere in the county, and…

Chesapeake outdoor burning follows the Virginia 4 PM Burn Law (VA Code 10.1-1142). From Feb 15 to April 30, open…

Open burning in Herndon is tightly restricted. The Virginia 4 PM Burning Law (VA Code §10.1-1142) prohibits burning…

Norfolk prohibits most open burning within city limits under City Code Chapter 16 and the Virginia Statewide Air…

Portsmouth outlaws burning wrecked or junked vehicles, waste materials, rubbish, debris, dead trees and limbs, leaves…

Open burning is heavily restricted in Richmond. The Virginia 4 PM Burning Law (VA Code 10.1-1142) applies Feb 15 to…

Roanoke's fire code bans igniting or maintaining any open fire on public or private property outside a building, and…

Suffolk prohibits open burning entirely from May through September, requires a Fire Marshal permit for debris burning…

Vienna prohibits open burning of leaves, brush, and yard waste within town limits. The Town of Vienna follows the…

Albemarle County bans open burning of refuse, garbage, household waste, and hazardous or commercial waste countywide…

Chesterfield bans open burning outright for six months a year and requires a fire-division permit the rest of the time…

Fairfax County bans kindling or maintaining any open fire outdoors on public or private property, with narrow…

Hampton bans open burning citywide by default: bonfires, barrel burning, land clearing and waste burning are all…

Hanover County Code Section 9-12 bans open burning or use of a special incineration device for garbage and refuse, yard…

Lynchburg bans open burning of household waste, refuse, tires, hazardous materials and commercial/industrial waste…

Spotsylvania County requires a county open air incineration permit and a 1,000-foot setback from any occupied dwelling…

Stafford County bans open burning of garbage, refuse, trash and other waste at all times, from any source, residential…

Alexandria regulates outdoor burning under local code and Virginia's 4 PM Burning Law (VA Code §10.1-1142). VDOF issues…

The City of Fairfax follows Virginia's 4 PM Burning Law during spring fire season (February 15 through April 30), which…

Frederick County bans open burning outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown: no owner may kindle an open fire…

Open burning of anything other than leaves requires a burn permit from the Henrico Fire Marshal. Leaf burning is…

Loudoun prohibits open burning of trash, construction debris, and yard waste within 300 feet of occupied buildings. VA…

Open burning of woods, brush and debris is restricted year-round under Code Section 4-3, with a February 15 to April 30…

Newport News regulates open burning under Chapter 16 of the City Code (Fire Prevention). Open burning of trash is…

Open burning requires a Fire Marshal permit, applied for at least 72 hours ahead. From February 15 to April 30, burning…

Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem) bans open burning of refuse, tires, hazardous waste…

Virginia Beach allows open burning only when permitted under the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code, and the fire…

Virginia lets the Governor, on the State Forester's recommendation, ban all open burning when serious fire hazards…

Henrico County maps no wildfire hazard or WUI zones. Instead, Virginia's '4 PM Burning Law' bars outdoor fires within…

Norfolk requires working smoke detectors in all residential dwellings under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building…

Albemarle County requires smoke alarms in every dwelling unit, hotel, motel, and rooming house under County Code §…

Alexandria requires working smoke detectors in every building with dwelling units, hotels, motels, and rooming houses…

Arlington County's Fire Prevention Code requires landlords to certify working smoke alarms to tenants at move-in, at…

Chesterfield requires working smoke alarms in every rented dwelling unit, hotel or motel room, and rooming house…

Fairfax County requires smoke detectors in every building containing one or more dwelling units and in hotels, motels…

In Frederick County outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown, every dwelling or manufactured home operated as…

Hampton requires owners to install smoke detectors, built to NFPA-74 standards, in every dwelling unit, hotel, motel…

Hanover County requires every short-term rental to have working smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire…

Henrico requires smoke alarms in every building with a dwelling unit, plus hotels, motels, and roominghouses. Owners…

Every building with a dwelling unit, plus hotels, motels, and rooming houses in Loudoun County, must have smoke…

Newport News landlords must install smoke alarms meeting the Uniform Statewide Building Code in every rental dwelling…

Portsmouth requires smoke detectors in every building with a dwelling unit, hotel, motel, or roominghouse offering…

Virginia's Statewide Fire Prevention Code and Uniform Statewide Building Code require working smoke alarms in…

Virginia's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, which governs every rental unit in Richmond, requires landlords to…

Roanoke bars anyone from occupying, leasing or renting a dwelling, or operating a hotel, motel or rooming house, until…

Spotsylvania County requires smoke detectors in every dwelling unit, hotel, motel, rooming house, group home and…

Stafford County's Fire Prevention Code amendments require smoke alarms in every building with a dwelling unit, every…

Virginia Beach requires smoke detectors in every dwelling, hotel, motel and rooming house, installed to state building…

Virginia adopts the Statewide Fire Prevention Code applying uniform NFPA 58 propane storage and handling standards…

Alexandria's Fire Prevention Code requires a $143 fire-official permit for LP-gas storage and use inside or outside any…

Arlington County's Fire Prevention Code requires a permit for storing or using LP-gas (propane) inside any structure…

Chesterfield's Fire Prevention Code amendments require every liquefied-petroleum-gas container to sit in a secured…

Fairfax County requires a Fire Marshal operational permit for outdoor LP-gas storage or use over 10 gallons aggregate…

Henrico sets no separate propane-storage ordinance. LP-gas storage is governed by the Virginia Statewide Fire…

Loudoun County's Fire Prevention Operational Permit Fee Schedule sets the residential propane threshold at 500 gallons…

Newport News mobile home parks may only store cooking or heating fuel in fire marshal-approved containers, and propane…

Virginia Beach requires an annual fire department permit to store or use LP-gas under the Virginia Statewide Fire…

Stafford County's Fire Prevention Code fee table exempts residential propane storage under 500 gallons water capacity…