North Carolina Fire Pit Codes, Permits and Clearances

Statewide Rules

North Carolina has a statewide fire code with the model code's 25 ft rule for recreational fires. The same code also says it does not apply to the occupancy of one- and two-family dwellings, and no state ruling says whether its fire pit distances reach a backyard at a house. That is why this page lists the distance as set locally: your city or county fire marshal enforces the state code and decides how it applies to your yard.

The Building Code Council adopts the fire code as a volume of the North Carolina State Building Code (N.C. Gen. Stat. §143-138). The edition in force is the 2018 North Carolina Fire Code, which is the 2015 International Fire Code (IFC) with North Carolina amendments.

These regulations shall be known as the North Carolina Fire Code as adopted by the North Carolina Building Code Council on June 13, 2017 to be effective January 1, 2019.

Does the Code Reach Your Yard?

Two sections pull in different directions.

Section 102.13 begins "The provisions of this code shall not apply to the following," and its first item is "Occupancy of one- and two-family dwellings."

Where a structure is built under the International Residential Code, the code's exterior construction and design provisions apply, and "Administrative, operational and maintenance provisions of this code shall apply."

The State Fire Marshal's office has answered part of the question in writing.

Asked whether the fire code gives the code official any enforcement authority at one- and two-family dwellings, the office answers "Yes." It names fire apparatus access roads and fire flows, and says the code "would also regulate certain open burning that is not regulated by NC Division of Environment and Natural Resources rules."

The interpretation does not mention recreational fires, and the code's definition of open burning leaves them out. We found no other written ruling from the State Fire Marshal or the Building Code Council. Charlotte and Raleigh publish the 25 ft rule for residents anyway, as the examples below show. State law also limits what a city can add for homes.

A city or county "shall not adopt local fire prevention code provisions which apply to dwellings subject to the North Carolina Residential Code which are not prescriptively required by the North Carolina Residential Code."

Section 307 as North Carolina Adopted It

Section 307 is the 2015 IFC text. The code underlines North Carolina amendments, none appears in Section 307, and the Building Code Council's list of 2018 Fire Code amendments adopted through December 2024 shows no change to it (N.C. Office of State Fire Marshal, checked 2026-10-09).

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

Portable outdoor fireplaces must follow the manufacturer's instructions and stay 15 ft from a structure or combustible material, with this exception: "Portable outdoor fireplaces used at one- and two-family dwellings." Recreational fires and portable outdoor fireplaces must be constantly attended, with a 4-A extinguisher or other approved equipment such as dirt, sand, a water barrel or a garden hose at hand.

The definitions decide which rule applies. A recreational fire is 3 ft or less across and 2 ft or less high, and its fuel is not contained in an incinerator, outdoor fireplace, portable outdoor fireplace, barbecue grill or barbecue pit. The code defines a portable outdoor fireplace as solid-fuel-burning. We did not find a Section 307 distance written for gas fire features.

Every distance runs to a structure or combustible material. None runs to a property line.

A Newer Edition Has No Start Date

The Council has also adopted a 2024 North Carolina Fire Code, based on the 2021 IFC. It is not in effect. Its text keeps the 25 ft recreational fire rule and the one- and two-family exclusion in section 102.13 (rule text filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings, checked 2026-10-09). A 2025 session law ties its start to a certification by the State Fire Marshal, followed by a wait of about a year.

The 2024 North Carolina State Building Code "shall become effective 12 months after the first day of the month following the date the State Fire Marshal certifies" that the publication steps are complete and the Residential Code Council is fully constituted.

Until then the 2018 code governs.

Construction and code enforcement is ongoing under the 2018 NC Building Code, and the 2024 code's start is "still a moving date."

On June 1, 2026, the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors put the earliest possible date at May 1, 2027, and said it has not been set and may be further delayed. Ask your building department which edition it enforces.

Forest Service Permits and Burn Bans

Open burning has its own state rules, separate from the fire code. The fire code lists open burning under N.C.G.S. 106-940 through 106-950 among its exceptions to applicability (102.13). Those sections belong to the N.C. Forest Service, part of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

In most counties a permit is required to start a fire in or within 500 feet of woodland under the Forest Service's protection between midnight and 4:00 P.M. The statute "does not apply to any fires started, or caused to be started, within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling house" if the fire is confined in an enclosure or in a watched area with fire protection equipment. It also does not apply to fires "for cooking, warming, or ceremonial events" on the same conditions, unless the Commissioner has prohibited all open burning.

In the 21 high hazard counties listed in section 106-942, the woodland permit applies at any hour. The Commissioner of Agriculture can ban all open burning.

In hazardous forest fire conditions the Commissioner "is authorized to prohibit all open burning regardless of whether a permit is required." The statute does not limit the authority of local governments to pass their own open burning ordinances.

The Forest Service issued a statewide ban at 6 p.m. on March 28, 2026, and lifted it for the last 19 counties at 8 a.m. on May 8, 2026. We found no state ban in effect on 2026-10-09. The order left a backyard carve-out, and the statute uses the same 100 ft figure.

The burn ban does not apply to fires started within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling. The local fire marshal has authority to issue a burn ban within those 100 feet.

The same release says that more than 100 ft from an occupied dwelling, fire pits, outdoor fireplaces and burning barrels are open burning and were covered. It allowed grills and barbecues where no local ordinance prohibits them. It does not mention gas or propane fire pits. If your pit is within 100 ft of an occupied dwelling, the state order did not reach it, and the local fire marshal has the say.

The state air rule treats backyard fires more kindly.

Permissible without an air quality permit: camp fires and fires used solely for outdoor cooking and other recreational purposes, ceremonial occasions, or human warmth and comfort that do not create a nuisance and do not use synthetic materials, refuse, or salvageable materials for fuel.

The Forest Service adds that "Local ordinances and air quality regulations may impact open burning." No source we read says whether a gas fire feature counts as open burning.

Gas Piping and LP-Gas

Detached one- and two-family homes follow the Residential Code for fuel gas. Other buildings follow the Fuel Gas Code.

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

The Fuel Gas Code carries the same sentence at section 636.1. It also leaves out one kind of unit.

The code does not apply to "Portable LP-gas appliances and equipment of all types that is not connected to a fixed fuel piping system."

North Carolina licenses fuel piping through the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating, and Fire Sprinkler Contractors (N.C.G.S. §87-21). A licensed installer's license number appears on proposals and contracts. Propane is regulated separately.

NFPA 58, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code, and NFPA 54, the National Fuel Gas Code, are "incorporated by reference, including subsequent amendments and editions."

Because the rule tracks later editions, we state no edition year. The LP-gas statute also does not apply to equipment covered by the Building Code (N.C.G.S. §119-54(b)). Ask your propane supplier how the rule applies to your cylinder.

City and County Examples

City of Charlotte

Charlotte adopts the North Carolina Fire Code by reference and makes no local change to the recreational fire or open-burning sections.

The North Carolina Fire Code, as amended from time to time, is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference as though fully set out in this chapter.

The rest of Chapter 8 covers enforcement, penalties and permit fees. Section 8-34 sets applications and fees for permits "required pursuant to chapter 1" of the state code. The Municode version we read is dated September 25, 2026.

The Charlotte Fire Department's Fire Marshal's Office publishes what it enforces for recreational fires, on a department sheet revised January 1, 2020.

Recreational fires must be "at least 25 feet from structures and other combustible materials," and portable outdoor fireplaces "at least 15 feet" from structures and other combustible materials. Only solid fuels are allowed.

The sheet shows no exception for one- and two-family homes and says nothing about gas fire features.

City of Raleigh

Raleigh also adopts the state code by reference.

"the North Carolina Fire Prevention Code (latest edition) along with the North Carolina Amendments of said Code is hereby adopted by reference."

We found no Raleigh amendment to Section 307 in Part 5. The city's solid waste code adds a rule on what you burn.

No person shall burn solid waste, including trash, recycling, or yard waste, outdoors on the streets or sidewalks or on private property within the city limits.

The Raleigh Fire Department's fire pit page says the only fires permitted are those used for heating or cooking, and it cites 2018 section 307.4.2 for the 25 ft distance (checked 2026-10-09). It does not mention gas or propane fire pits.

Getting a Permit

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

• Recreational fire. No fire code operational permit, because section 105.6.32 exempts recreational fires. That permit is optional, and a city or county must adopt it by ordinance (105.1.2). Charlotte's section 8-34 covers permit applications generally, so confirm with the Fire Marshal.
• Fire near woodland. An N.C. Forest Service burn permit applies between midnight and 4 p.m. to fires in or within 500 ft of woodland, and at any hour in the 21 high hazard counties. A fire within 100 ft of an occupied dwelling is outside that statute if it is enclosed or watched with fire protection equipment (section 106-950(a)). So is an enclosed or watched cooking, warming or ceremonial fire, unless the Commissioner has banned all open burning (106-950(a2)).
• Burn ban. A state ban does not reach an enclosed or watched fire within 100 ft of an occupied dwelling (106-950(a)), and the March 2026 order said the same. The local fire marshal governs that zone.
• Building the pit. The State Fire Marshal's office says the Residential Code does not apply to a standalone outdoor fire pit, because fire pits are not on its list of regulated accessory structures (interpretation R101.2.2, March 20, 2019, checked 2026-10-09). That says nothing about the gas line or local zoning.
• Gas line to a fire feature. The Fuel Gas Code requires a permit from the code official before you install or alter a regulated gas installation (106.1), and exempts portable heating appliances (106.2). Detached homes follow the Residential Code, whose permit section defers to the Administrative Code. We did not read that section, so ask your local inspections department, and use a licensed installer.
• Propane. LP-gas equipment rules sit in 02 NCAC 38 .0701. Ask your propane supplier.

What This Means for Your Build

Wood. Plan on 25 ft between the fire and any structure or combustible material. That is section 307.4.2, and it is the figure Charlotte and Raleigh publish. The distance runs to the structure, not your property line. Whether the state code reaches a one- or two-family home on its own is unsettled (section 102.13), so your fire marshal's reading governs. The model text excepts a portable outdoor fireplace at a one- or two-family home from its 15 ft rule, while Charlotte lists 15 ft with no exception. Ask your fire marshal in writing before you rely on either reading.

Burn bans. If your pit is within 100 ft of an occupied dwelling and the fire is enclosed or watched, a state ban leaves it to your local fire marshal. Beyond 100 ft, the March 2026 order covered fire pits. It allowed grills and did not mention gas or propane fire pits, so ask before you light a gas unit during any ban.

Gas. Start with the installation manual for your unit. A permanently installed outdoor gas appliance must meet ANSI Z21.97 and be installed to the manufacturer's instructions, and your unit's manual controls its clearances. Run your feature type and fuel through the clearance checker for the published manufacturer minimums. Use the gas line sizing calculator to see whether your existing line can feed the burner before you call anyone. The gas line itself is work for a licensed installer, with a permit from your local inspections department.

This page covers Charlotte and Raleigh. Your city or county may handle open burning differently, and your fire marshal's reading governs.