10/01/2026
🔥 OUTDOOR BURNING IN OHIO — KNOW WHICH RULES APPLY
With Ohio’s seasonal burning restrictions in effect, we want to clarify some common questions about outdoor fires.
Ohio does not have one single set of outdoor-burning rules. Depending on the type of fire, three different sets of state requirements may apply: the Ohio Division of Forestry, Ohio EPA, and the Ohio Fire Code. Each serves a different purpose, and complying with one does not necessarily mean a fire complies with the others.
🌲 OHIO DIVISION OF FORESTRY — THE “6–6 RULE”
Ohio Revised Code 1503.18 generally prohibits open-air burning of wood, brush, weeds, grass, or rubbish outside municipal corporations between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. during March, April, May, October, and November, subject to exceptions contained in the law.
This is the source of the seasonal “6 a.m. to 6 p.m.” restriction commonly shared during the spring and fall fire seasons.
🌎 OHIO EPA — AIR QUALITY & OPEN BURNING
Ohio EPA has a separate set of rules governing open burning for air-pollution purposes. What may be burned—and under what conditions—depends heavily on what is being burned and why.
For example, qualifying bonfires, campfires, and outdoor fireplaces used for cooking, pleasure, warmth, recreation, or similar purposes may use clean seasoned firewood or an equivalent clean-burning fuel, cannot be used for waste disposal, and generally have a maximum fuel area of 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet high.
The frequently mentioned “1,000-foot rule” does NOT apply to every campfire or recreational fire. That requirement applies in specific circumstances involving certain residential or agricultural waste burning.
🚒 OHIO FIRE CODE — FIRE SAFETY
The Ohio Fire Code separately regulates open burning and recreational fires from a fire-safety standpoint.
Depending on the type and size of fire, requirements can include separation from structures and combustible materials, constant attendance, available extinguishing equipment, permits or approvals, and other safety requirements. The Fire Code generally uses 50 feet for open burning, with exceptions including 25 feet for certain piles 3 feet or less in diameter and 2 feet or less in height and 15 feet for fires in approved containers. Recreational fires have separate requirements.
⚠️ THE FIRE DEPARTMENT MAY ORDER A HAZARDOUS FIRE EXTINGUISHED
Meeting a distance requirement does not automatically mean an outdoor fire is permitted or safe.
Under the Ohio Fire Code, when open burning creates or adds to a hazardous situation, the fire code official is authorized to order the fire extinguished. The Fire Code also provides extinguishment authority when a required open-burning permit has not been obtained.
Outdoor fires must also be constantly attended until extinguished, with appropriate extinguishing equipment—such as a garden hose, water, dirt, sand, or an appropriate extinguisher—available for immediate use.
Some types of burning may also require permits, notification, or prior approval from the appropriate authority.
📞 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS?
When the fire department responds to an outdoor-burning complaint, personnel evaluate the fire for fire and life-safety hazards and applicable provisions of the Ohio Fire Code.
It is important to understand that the Division of Forestry, Ohio EPA, and the Ohio Fire Code are separate regulatory systems.
A fire department’s decision not to order a fire extinguished does not mean the department has determined that the fire complies with every Ohio EPA or Division of Forestry requirement. Likewise, meeting the Ohio Fire Code’s distance requirements does not necessarily mean the fire complies with other applicable state regulations.
🔥 BEFORE YOU BURN, ASK:
WHAT am I burning? • WHY am I burning it? • WHERE is the fire? • WHEN am I burning? • HOW LARGE is it? • WHAT ARE THE WEATHER AND SURROUNDING CONDITIONS?
Those answers can change which rules apply.
The bottom line:
6–6 doesn’t describe every Ohio outdoor-fire rule.
1,000 feet doesn’t apply to every recreational fire.
25 feet doesn’t automatically make a fire legal.
Ohio’s outdoor-burning laws overlap. When in doubt, check the applicable Ohio Division of Forestry, Ohio EPA, and Ohio Fire Code requirements before burning.
🔥 Prevent fires. Protect our community.
