Fire Regulations in Washington (2026)

Auburn bans outdoor fires citywide except for religious or ceremonial fires, firefighting instruction, disease control…

In unincorporated King County parks, campfires and fire pits are allowed only in spots posted and designated for that…

Spokane Valley bans open fires in city parks, trails, and open space except inside a designated barbecue unit or a…

Bellevue lets residents burn recreational fires and use portable outdoor fireplaces without a permit, but recreational…

Recreational fires must burn in a metal, stone or masonry-lined pit no larger than 3 feet across and 2 feet high, sit…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, recreational fire and barbecue pits inside a permitted campground must be affixed to…

Edmonds bans outdoor burning citywide, but exempts small cooking fires burning only charcoal, natural gas, propane or…

Everett allows LP-gas and natural-gas fire pits, fire bowls and fire tables when used as intended, but bars them from…

Recreational fires, campfires, cook fires and bonfires are allowed in unincorporated Grant County under GCC 6.10.050 as…

Backyard fires in Kirkland must be under 3 feet wide, 25 feet from structures, clean-wood fueled, and attended until…

Backyard recreational fires are allowed in Pierce County without a permit, but only small fires burning clean wood or…

Sammamish allows recreational fires and portable outdoor fireplaces as exceptions to its open-burning ban, but each has…

SMC 18.12.270 confines fires in Seattle parks to a designated stove or fire ring, or an approved beach-fire area at…

Backyard campfires, cooking fires, and bonfires burning charcoal or bare untreated wood are allowed on private property…

A backyard fire pit or campfire in unincorporated Spokane County is a "recreational fire" under WAC 173-425-030(21) and…

Unincorporated Whatcom County treats a backyard fire pit as a recreational fire under NWCAA Regulation 502: no permit…

Yakima County bans outdoor fires without a written permit under YCC § 13.12.100, but a fire pit, barbecue or fireplace…

Tacoma requires a Fire Department Bonfire Permit for any outdoor fire whose fuel bed exceeds three feet in diameter or…

Consumer fireworks are legal statewide under RCW 70.77 on specified dates, but sky rockets, missiles, firecrackers, and…

Bellevue bans igniting or discharging any fireworks anywhere in the city at any time under BCC 23.11.5608.2, the city's…

Bellingham bans manufacturing, importing, possessing, selling, transporting, or publicly displaying fireworks citywide…

Edmonds bans the sale, possession, use, transfer, discharge or ignition of any fireworks within city limits, including…

Everett bans the sale, possession, and discharge of fireworks within city limits: consumer fireworks are allowed only…

Federal Way bans possessing, using, selling, or discharging fireworks of any kind within city limits under FWRC…

Manufacturing, selling, transporting, discharging, storing or using fireworks anywhere in unincorporated Franklin…

Following a 2015 voter referendum, Kent bans the sale, possession, and discharge of consumer fireworks anywhere in the…

Unincorporated King County bans retail fireworks sales outright and bars any use, discharge or display of fireworks…

Kirkland bans the sale, possession, use, and discharge of fireworks citywide. KMC 11.60.020 and 11.60.030 make it…

Lynnwood bans the purchase, sale, manufacture, possession, storage, discharge or use of any fireworks within city…

Marysville bans possessing, selling, discharging or igniting any fireworks within city limits under Marysville…

Unincorporated Pierce County sharply limits consumer fireworks under PCC 17C.60.230. Discharge is legal only on July 4…

Port Townsend bans selling, discharging, or igniting any fireworks in the city, with only narrow permitted exceptions.

Renton bans the knowing possession, sale, and discharge of all fireworks citywide, effective since May 21, 2005. The…

Spokane Valley bans retail fireworks sales and personal discharge citywide. SVMC § 7.15.030 makes it unlawful to sell…

Tacoma bans the sale, transportation, discharge, storage, and use of consumer fireworks citywide, every day of the…

Yakima voters banned fireworks citywide by special election in 1992, and YMC § 10.15.015 still makes it unlawful to…

Unincorporated Yakima County bans selling, possessing, using or discharging fireworks outright under Yakima County Code…

Auburn limits legal fireworks discharge to 9 a.m.-11 p.m. on July 4th and 6 p.m. December 31st through 1 a.m. January…

Consumer fireworks may only be sold and set off in unincorporated Benton County during two short windows each year…

Consumer fireworks may be discharged in unincorporated Kitsap County only on July 4th, between 11:00 a.m. and 11:00…

Lakewood, Washington limits fireworks sales to noon June 28th through 11:00 p.m. July 4th, and discharge to 11:00…

Pasco licenses only 8 retail fireworks sellers and 2 wholesale distributors per year, all limited to temporary stands…

Puyallup allows common fireworks sales only from noon June 28 through 9 p.m. July 4, and discharge only from noon to 11…

Seattle doesn't regulate fireworks through a standalone ban ordinance: it permits them through the Fire Code Permit and…

In unincorporated Clark County, consumer fireworks may be discharged only from 9 a.m. to midnight on July 4, and from 6…

Retail fireworks sales in unincorporated Cowlitz County require a Building and Planning Department permit under CCC §…

Grant County's Fire Marshal issues fireworks permits for the unincorporated county under GCC 6.04.020, following RCW…

In unincorporated Skagit County it is unlawful to sell fireworks at retail except between June 15 and July 9 each year…

In unincorporated Snohomish County, consumer fireworks may be discharged only from 9:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on July 4…

Consumer fireworks are banned in unincorporated Spokane County under Spokane County Code Chapter 3.17: no sale…

Thurston County restricts consumer fireworks to two dates a year: discharge is legal only from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on…

Consumer fireworks are legal in unincorporated Whatcom County only on July 3-5 and December 31, within set hours…

Bellevue requires owners and occupants to cut and remove weeds, grass, vines or other growth capable of igniting on…

Clark County recommends a 30-foot defensible space cleared of flammable vegetation around your house, with firewood and…

Franklin County's amended fire code sets exact clearance distances for storing hay, straw, and similar agricultural…

Unincorporated King County lets homeowners clear brush and prune trees near a house for wildfire safety without a…

Port Townsend's nuisance code makes it illegal to let dry vegetation pile up in a way that endangers property or…

Snohomish County has no single 'clear your brush' ordinance countywide, but the 2021 Washington Wildland-Urban…

Spokane County has no single fixed defensible-space clearance distance for all homes, but Washington DNR can require…

Washington's Clean Air Act (RCW 70A.15) bans outdoor burning in urban growth areas and most cities. The Department of…

Open burning is banned at all times in Bellevue under a permanent Puget Sound Clean Air Agency ban dating to September…

Burning garbage, rubbish, or other solid waste that could cause a health hazard or nuisance is unlawful in…

Edmonds makes it unlawful to engage in outdoor burning anywhere within city limits, notwithstanding any other code…

Outdoor burning of yard debris and trash is banned year-round in Kirkland under PSCAA Regulation I and RCW 70.94; only…

PMC 8.05.230 bars all outdoor burning in Pasco unless it is specifically allowed under Regulation 1 of the…

Outdoor burning in Pierce County is regulated by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, which bans all land-clearing fires…

Renton prohibits open burning outright under Fire Code Section 307.1 as locally amended, aligning with Puget Sound…

Open burning has been banned in Sammamish at all times since the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency's permanent 1992 ban…

Outdoor burning is permanently banned in every Whatcom County city and urban growth area, including Bellingham…

Auburn bans all outdoor fires unless they fall into a short, enumerated list, and even those require a written permit…

Unincorporated Benton County bans outdoor and agricultural burning whenever the Fire Marshal rates fire danger High…

Unincorporated Grant County runs an automatic outdoor burning restriction every year from June 1 through September 30…

Burning outdoors in Kent without a valid fire permit violates Kent City Code 9.02.400, which adopts RCW Chapter 52.12…

Yakima Municipal Code Section 4.16.160 bans burning wastepaper, boxes, rubbish, debris, brush, grass, leaves, weeds…

On land the Washington Department of Natural Resources protects within Yakima County, from orchard slash to logging…

Residential and land-clearing burning is permanently banned inside city limits and urban growth areas (Vancouver…

Unincorporated Franklin County splits into an urban zone (Pasco and urban growth areas) and a nonurban zone for…

Anyone burning outside a city or town in unincorporated Skagit County needs a written burning permit from the county…

Land-clearing burning is permanently banned countywide. Residential yard-waste burning (pile no larger than 4x4x3 feet)…

Burning yard and garden debris is NOT allowed for most residents of Spokane County. Burning garbage and burn barrels…

Washington adopted the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code statewide under RCW 19.27.560, effective July 1…

Bellevue adopts the 2021 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code by reference alongside the 2021 International Fire…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County adopts the 2021 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code and rates every area of the…

Edmonds has adopted the 2021 International Wildland Urban Interface Code, as amended by the state Building Code…

Grant County enforces the International Wildland Urban Interface Code countywide under GCC Chapter 15.05, with a local…

Unincorporated King County allows limited tree and brush clearing near homes for wildfire preparedness without a…

Kirkland applies the 2021 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code to construction within its wildland-urban…

Port Townsend enforces the International Wildland Urban Interface Code, adopted into its building code to set…

Renton adopted the 2021 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code at RMC 4-5-063, applying construction, alteration…

Washington's Wildland-Urban Interface Code applies to parcels mapped high or very-high wildfire hazard. On those…

Spokane County Code Chapter 3.16 sets wildfire-hardening construction standards for every home built in the…

Unincorporated Yakima County adopts the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code and maps every parcel into a…

Auburn follows the 2021 IFC under ACC 15.36. Smoke alarms required in each bedroom, outside sleep areas, every level…

Bellevue follows Washington State Building Code requiring smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside sleeping areas, and on…

Federal Way enforces WAC 51-51-0314 via FWRC 13.22. Smoke alarms required in every bedroom, outside sleeping areas, and…

Kent requires working smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside sleeping areas, and on every level. Landlords must install…

Smoke alarms required in all King County dwellings per WA Building Code (RCW 19.27, IRC R314). New construction needs…

Bellingham inspects every short-term rental before licensing and requires an interconnected smoke alarm in each bedroom…

Washington law (RCW 43.44.110) requires smoke detection devices in all dwelling units. The owner is responsible for…

Kirkland requires working smoke alarms in every bedroom and on every level, plus CO alarms outside sleeping areas…

Kitsap County requires owners of existing multi-family Group R, Division 1 buildings, hotels, motels, apartments…

Before a manufactured home lacking a Washington L&I or HUD insignia, but proven to have stood in Marysville since…

Pasco requires interconnected smoke alarms between an accessory dwelling unit and the primary residence when an…

Washington law (RCW 43.44.110) requires smoke detection devices in all dwelling units. In Pierce County rentals, the…

Port Townsend enforces smoke alarm standards through its locally adopted 2021 International Residential and Fire Codes…

Puyallup Chapter 16.12 adopts Washington's smoke detector statute and administrative rules for dwelling units by…

Sammamish's locally adopted Building and Property Maintenance Code requires smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each…

Seattle's housing code makes landlords install smoke detectors within 4 to 12 inches of the ceiling inside and outside…

Washington law requires smoke detection devices inside all dwelling units. Owners must install them; tenants must…

Washington's smoke detector law, RCW 43.44.110, requires a working smoke detection device in every dwelling unit rented…

Tacoma requires smoke alarms in every bedroom, hallway outside sleeping areas, and each story of existing Group R and…

Every manufactured or mobile home installed in Thurston County must have an approved smoke detector meeting…

Existing homes and apartments in unincorporated Yakima County must have smoke alarms in every sleeping area, on each…

Washington adopts the International Fire Code statewide under RCW 19.27.031, including NFPA 58 standards for liquefied…

Bulk liquefied petroleum gas storage is restricted countywide in unincorporated Benton County under BCC 3.16.025, which…

Tacoma's Fire Code amendment bans storing liquefied petroleum gas in containers or tanks citywide unless the…

Auburn's fire code amendment, ACC 15.36A.051, requires LP-gas containers of 125 gallons or more to be anchored or…

Bellevue's amended Fire Code caps aggregate liquefied petroleum gas storage at any single installation at 2,000 gallons…

Bellingham applies the International Fire Code's liquefied-petroleum-gas storage restriction to nearly every developed…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, bulk liquefied petroleum gas storage is confined to property zoned Neighborhood…

Everett caps liquefied petroleum gas storage at any one installation to 2,000 gallons of water capacity under its fire…

Federal Way regulates residential propane and LP-gas installations through the adopted International Residential Code…

In unincorporated Franklin County, the county has designated every residentially zoned parcel as a geographic limit…

Kirkland limits the total propane (LP-gas) stored at any single installation to an aggregate water capacity of 2,000…

Pasco regulates propane and other liquefied-petroleum gas installations by adopting NFPA 58, the Liquefied Petroleum…

In special flood hazard areas of unincorporated Skagit County, SCC 14.34.150(6)(c) requires every above-ground propane…

Snohomish County has adopted the 2018 International Fire Code (SCC 30.53A.010), which governs liquefied-petroleum…

Thurston County requires an operational permit under Fire Code § [A] 105.6.27 before installing any LP-gas system…

Unincorporated Whatcom County lets homeowners keep a propane tank up to 500 gallons in the front-yard setback, but only…

Yakima County requires a Fire Code permit before installing, modifying or using an LP-gas system, but exempts small…