Fire
Fire Pit Rules: Distance From the House, Permits and Open Burning
6 min · Updated 2026-09-28
How far a fire pit must be from the house, when a backyard fire or open burning needs a permit, and what Austin and Los Angeles add to the fire code.
How far a fire pit has to be from the house depends on what the fire code calls the fire. A fire of anything but rubbish, burned for pleasure, cooking, warmth or similar purposes, with its fuel no more than 3 feet across and 2 feet high and not held in a fireplace, grill, barbecue pit or incinerator, is a recreational fire: it has to be at least 25 feet from a structure or combustible material, and the model code wants no permit for it. A portable outdoor fireplace has a 15-foot line, which the model code does not apply at one- and two-family dwellings. The code does not say plainly which line a built-in pit, an outdoor fireplace or a gas fire pit keeps. Burning brush or trash to get rid of it is open burning, with a 50-foot line. Austin and Los Angeles each add rules of their own, and Austin’s fire department prohibits open burning in the city.
| Line | Model code | Austin | Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recreational fire | At least 25 ft from a structure or combustible material | As in the model code; the fire department also wants 10 ft around it cleared of dry grass and leaves | As in the model code |
| Portable outdoor fireplace | 15 ft, used as its maker instructs; the rule does not apply at one- and two-family dwellings | Code as in the model code; the fire department’s page for houses and duplexes says 15 ft | As in the model code |
| Built-in pit, outdoor fireplace or gas pit | Not plainly covered; ask the fire marshal | As in the model code | As in the model code, and the Fire Chief approves the location of a permanently installed device within 10 ft of a building |
| Permit | Needed for an open fire or a fire on public or private ground, except a recreational fire; for a portable outdoor fireplace or a built-in pit, ask the fire marshal | A recreational fire is excepted; a warming fire needs one, and Austin does not define it: ask the fire department | Outdoor burning only by the Fire Chief’s special permit, for four purposes; devices for cooking or entertainment are outside that rule; for a fire on open ground, ask the Fire Department |
| Open burning | 50 ft from any structure; 15 ft in an approved container; 25 ft for a pile 3 ft across and 2 ft high or less | Code: 50 ft, or 15 ft in an approved container, with a permit; the fire department says open burning is prohibited and permits only prescribed burns | As in the model code, and only by special permit for the four purposes |
| Bonfire | A permit, and 50 ft from a structure or combustible material unless it is in a barbecue pit | Code as in the model code; the fire department issues permits only for prescribed burns | A permit and 50 ft, as in the model code; ask the Fire Department whether a backyard bonfire can get one |
| Attendance | Constantly attended until out, with an extinguisher rated at least 4-A, or other approved means such as dirt, sand, a water barrel or a garden hose, at hand | As in the model code; the fire department says by a competent adult | As in the model code |
What counts as a recreational fire?
The International Fire Code sorts outdoor fires by what burns and what holds it. A recreational fire is an outdoor fire burning anything but rubbish, with a total fuel area 3 feet across or less and 2 feet high or less, for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth or similar purposes, where the fuel is not in an incinerator, an outdoor fireplace, a portable outdoor fireplace, a barbecue grill or a barbecue pit. A portable outdoor fireplace is a portable, outdoor fireplace that burns solid fuel; it may be made of steel, concrete, clay or another noncombustible material, and may be open or have a small hearth opening and a short chimney or a chimney opening in the top. Open burning is burning whose smoke goes straight into the air rather than up a chimney from an enclosed chamber, and it does not include recreational fires or portable outdoor fireplaces. A bonfire is an outdoor fire for ceremonial purposes.
How far does a fire pit have to be from the house?
A recreational fire may not be within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material, and anything that could carry the fire to within 25 feet of a structure has to be cleared before it is lit. A portable outdoor fireplace is used as its maker instructs and not within 15 feet of a structure or combustible material, but the model code exempts portable outdoor fireplaces used at one- and two-family dwellings from that rule. Open burning has to be at least 50 feet from any structure, with provisions to keep the fire from spreading to within 50 feet of one. A fire in an approved container, which means one the fire code official accepts, may be 15 feet away, and a pile no more than 3 feet across and 2 feet high may be 25 feet away. A bonfire may not be within 50 feet of a structure or combustible material unless it is in a barbecue pit. The recreational fire, portable outdoor fireplace and bonfire lines are measured to any structure or combustible material, and the open burning lines to any structure, not only to your own house.
What about built-in pits, outdoor fireplaces and gas fire pits?
The recreational fire rule leaves out a fire in an outdoor fireplace or a barbecue pit, and the code defines neither, so it does not say plainly which line a built-in pit or outdoor fireplace keeps. Section 307 does not mention gas fire pits. For any of these, ask the fire marshal where it can go before you build it.
Do you need a permit for a fire pit?
The model code wants an operational permit to kindle or keep an open fire, or a fire on public or private ground, and its one exception is a recreational fire. That exception does not name portable outdoor fireplaces, or fires in an outdoor fireplace or a barbecue pit, so ask the fire marshal whether yours needs one. A bonfire needs a permit from the fire code official, as does a fire for recognized silvicultural, range or wildlife management practices or to control disease or pests, and only the owner of the land may apply. Where state or local law requires it, open burning also needs the prior approval of the air quality authority.
What do you need on hand while it burns?
Open burning, bonfires, recreational fires and portable outdoor fireplaces must be constantly attended until the fire is out, with a portable fire extinguisher rated at least 4-A, or other approved equipment such as dirt, sand, a water barrel, a garden hose or a water truck, ready to use. The code prohibits open burning when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make it hazardous, and lets the fire code official order open burning put out when it creates or adds to a hazard or lacks a permit it needs.
Fire pit rules in Austin
Austin adopts the 2024 International Fire Code with local amendments. It keeps the model code’s definitions of a recreational fire, a portable outdoor fireplace, open burning and a bonfire, and its recreational fire, portable outdoor fireplace and attendance rules. Its amendments want a permit for a warming fire, a rubbish fire (rubbish includes waste from building or demolition) and a bonfire, as well as for the model code’s other purposes, but not for a legitimate cooking fire, one kindled within an appliance or structure made or built for the express purpose of cooking meals, or a legitimate warming fire, one in a metal or other noncombustible container at a construction site or similar outdoor workplace. Incidental cooking or warming of food over an open recreational fire does not make it a legitimate cooking fire. Austin’s code defines a legitimate warming fire but not a warming fire, and its operational permit list still excepts recreational fires; if your fire pit is for warmth, ask the fire department whether it needs a permit. Permitted open burning has to be at least 50 feet from any structure, or 15 feet in an approved container, and be constantly attended by a competent person with an approved means to put it out; Austin drops the model code’s 25-foot line for small piles.
The Austin Fire Department’s page for single-family homes and duplexes goes further than the code text. It says open burning is strictly prohibited in the city, trash, rubbish, tree limbs and leaves included, and that permits are issued only for prescribed burns. At a house or duplex it wants a recreational fire at least 25 feet from structures and other combustible materials, burning solid fuel only, with dry grass, leaves and other combustibles cleared for at least 10 feet around it, constantly attended by a competent adult with an extinguisher rated at least 4-A, or a garden hose, ready. It wants a portable outdoor fireplace at least 15 feet from structures and other combustible materials, although the code’s own 15-foot rule excepts one- and two-family dwellings. A fire whose smoke is found harmful to neighboring owners, or that burns when conditions make fires hazardous, will be put out at once. Where the department’s page and the code differ, ask the department which applies.
Texas’s own rule prohibits outdoor burning except as it allows, and it allows fires used solely for recreation or ceremony, for noncommercial cooking, or for warmth in cold weather. The state’s guide says such a fire may not contain electrical insulation, treated lumber (painted, stained, varnished or otherwise treated), plastics, construction or demolition materials not made of wood, heavy oils, asphaltic materials, potentially explosive materials, chemical wastes or anything with natural or synthetic rubber, and must not cause a nuisance or a traffic hazard. It adds that cities and counties can be stricter, and that county burn bans have to be followed as well.
Fire pit rules in Los Angeles
Los Angeles’s fire code adopts Section 307 of the California Fire Code in its entirety, with exceptions, modifications and additions, and California’s code has the model code’s definitions of a recreational fire, a portable outdoor fireplace, open burning and a bonfire, and its Section 307, word for word. The additions let the Fire Chief issue a special permit for outdoor burning for four purposes only: training public employees to fight fires, training employees in firefighting on property used for industrial purposes, public gatherings under the legitimate sponsorship of civic, fraternal, religious or similar organizations, and cooking in or upon the ground. An exterior fireplace, barbecue or other fuel-burning device meant for cooking or entertainment is not restricted by that rule, but burning waste or other unwanted combustible material in one is prohibited. The Chief approves the location of any permanently installed outdoor burning device that is a separate structure for cooking, decoration or entertainment and stands within 10 feet of a building. No one may build, locate, maintain or use an incinerator, exterior fireplace or barbecue, or burn anything, in a way that creates a fire hazard or endangers anyone’s life or property.
The code does not say in so many words whether a fire built on open ground in a yard, not in a device, is outdoor burning that needs one of those special permits; ask the Fire Department before you light one. The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s rules may also apply; this guide has not read them, so check them before you burn.
Can a fire pit go near a deck or on a patio?
A fire pit often goes in a patio or in the yard beside a deck. A wood deck is combustible material, so the recreational fire line runs to it as well. The patio and deck permit briefs cover the permits for building them; the lines above govern where the fire can burn.