Arizona Fire Pit Codes, Permits and Clearances

Statewide Rules

Arizona has a statewide fire code, and for fire pits it is the model code with no changes. The State Fire Code is the 2024 International Fire Code (IFC), including D102.1 and D107.1 of Appendix D and Appendices B, C, E, F, G, H, I, J and N, modified only by Article 3. A rulemaking published at 32 A.A.R. 558 (March 6, 2026) took effect April 13, 2026.

Unless otherwise provided by law, any person residing, doing business, or who is physically present within the state of Arizona shall comply with the provisions of the International Fire Code (2024 Edition).

Article 3 (R4-36-301 to R4-36-311) covers definitions, appendices, permit time-frames, the board of appeals and fireworks. None of it touches IFC Section 307 or the open-burning permit at 105.5.36.

Who Enforces It

The Office of the State Fire Marshal, under the State Forester in the Department of Forestry and Fire Management, adopts the code. Enforcement is statewide with one large exception.

The State Fire Marshal must "adopt by rule a state fire code." The code is enforced throughout the state except in any city with a population of one hundred thousand persons or more that has in effect a nationally recognized fire code and has enacted an ordinance to assume such jurisdiction. The Marshal's general inspection duty excludes family dwellings having fewer than five residential dwelling units.

Phoenix and Tucson run their own codes, both on the 2024 IFC.

Section 307 as Written

The recreational fire rules are the 2024 IFC text as written.

Recreational fires shall not be conducted within 25 feet (7620 mm) of a structure or combustible material.

Portable outdoor fireplaces must be used per the manufacturer's instructions and not operated within 15 ft of a structure or combustible material. One- and two-family dwellings are excepted. The IFC defines a portable outdoor fireplace as solid-fuel-burning.

Open burning is prohibited when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fires hazardous. Fires must be constantly attended, with a 4-A extinguisher or equivalent on hand.

These are wood-fire distances, measured to a structure or combustible material. None is measured to a property line.

Air Permits for Backyard Fires

Arizona's air rule treats a backyard fire as exempt from the state permit, with three counties running their own programs.

Open outdoor fires are unlawful in a county "without independent authority to permit fires" except as provided. Fires used only for cooking of food, providing warmth for human beings, and recreational purposes are exempt from the permit requirement. "Independent authority to permit fires" is defined to include only Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties.

Gas Appliances and LP-Gas

The State Fire Code sends gas appliances to the fuel gas code and to the manufacturer.

Nonportable gas-fired appliances and systems must comply with Section 605 and the International Fuel Gas Code. Installation must follow the manufacturer's installation instructions.

LP-gas equipment shall be installed in accordance with the International Fuel Gas Code and NFPA 58, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

Permanently fixed-in-place outdoor decorative appliances shall be listed in accordance with ANSI Z21.97 and shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

The State Fire Code references the IFGC. We did not find a separate statewide adoption of the IFGC itself, so read this as the State Fire Code requiring gas appliances to meet the International Fuel Gas Code, and confirm with your city or county which fuel gas code its building department enforces.

City and County Examples

City of Phoenix and Maricopa County

Phoenix enforces the Phoenix Fire Code, which is the 2024 International Fire Code with Phoenix amendments, effective 2/17/2026. The Phoenix Fire Department's adopted packet does not print the adopting ordinance number.

The Chapter 3 amendments cover 302.1, 303, 308.3.2, 315, 316.3, 323.1 and 324.1. Section 307 is not amended, so 25 ft for recreational fires (307.4.2) and the 307.4.3 rule apply as written. Amendment 105.5.36, "Open burning or bonfire," requires an operational permit for open fires, with "Exception: Recreational fires."

The rule that governs Phoenix backyards in practice is the county's. Maricopa County Air Pollution Control Ordinance P-26, Residential Burning Restriction (revised 10/23/2019), applies to chimineas, outdoor fireplaces and outdoor fire pits at a residence that burn solid fuel.

During a restricted-burn period declared by the Control Officer, a person shall not operate a chiminea or outdoor fireplace that burns solid fuel and shall "Not operate a fire pit or similar outdoor fire."

Gas is outside P-26. For a gas fire pit buyer in metro Phoenix, that is the most useful fact on this page.

The ordinance does not apply to "Devices or equipment, including fire pits and fireplaces, that are designed and used to burn natural gas, propane, or liquefied petroleum gas exclusively."

When no restricted-burn period is in effect, only seasoned wood may be burned (Section 3.B.2).

City of Tucson

Tucson adopts the 2024 IFC with local amendments, and a separate city code section on open fires also applies.

The 2024 Edition of the International Fire Code published by the International Code Council, with those local amendments attached as Exhibit A to Ordinance 12115, is hereby adopted.

The editor's note says Exhibit A is not printed in the code and is on file with the city clerk. We could not read it, so we cannot say whether Tucson amended IFC Section 307.

No person shall kindle, suffer, maintain, authorize, or permit any open fire or bonfire, or use or operate with fire any incinerator or other burning device outside of a regular building within the city without the permit specified in section 11-7. Section 11-8 requires no permit for "homestyle broilers, barbecue pits, grills, or other similar cooking devices."

How section 11-6 applies to a backyard recreational fire, next to the 2024 IFC's permit exemption, is a question for Tucson Fire.

Getting a Permit

What is required varies by city, county and air district, and the local fire official decides. This is what the sources above support.

• Wood recreational fire under the State Fire Code or in Phoenix. No operational permit, because the IFC 105.5.36 exception applies. In metro Phoenix, check for a Maricopa County restricted-burn period before you light wood (P-26).
• Tucson. Read Tucson Code §11-6 to §11-8 and confirm with Tucson Fire before you rely on the IFC exemption.
• Gas fire feature. Follow the listing and the installation manual (IFC 605.1.1, IFGC 635.1). Gas line and appliance connection permits are local building department matters. We did not pull a city permit citation, so ask your building department.

What This Means for Your Build

Wood. Plan on 25 ft between the fire and any structure or combustible material. That is the State Fire Code, and Phoenix does not change it. The distance runs to the structure, not your property line. In metro Phoenix the county air rule is the one that governs your backyard: during a restricted-burn period, P-26 bars a wood fire pit outright, and the rest of the year it allows only seasoned wood. In Tucson, check the city permit rule before you rely on the exemption.

Gas. In Maricopa County a fire pit designed and used to burn natural gas, propane or LP-gas exclusively falls outside P-26, and the exemption turns on the word exclusively. If restricted-burn periods would keep you from using a wood pit, that exemption is the tradeoff to weigh. Other rules still apply: the listing requirement, and the clearances in your unit's installation manual. Run your feature type and fuel through the clearance checker for the published manufacturer minimums, then read your own manual, which controls.

Gas lines and connections go through your local building department, and a licensed installer should do that work. Your city, county and air district can each add rules to what is on this page, and the fire official's reading governs.