Laws are usually formulated in complex ways that makes them hard to understand, and the laws about fire pits are no exception. So I decided to make this article where I am going to explain as simply as possible the laws from Wisconsin about fire pits.
One quick thing that I want to mention before we start with the laws is that fire pits fall under the category of open fires. There are no specific laws for fire pits, so they must follow the exact same laws as all open fires.
Now let’s go over the most important fire pit laws in Wisconsin.
Table of Contents
How Far Should a Fire Pit Be From the House?
One of the most important laws regarding fire pits is the one saying how far the fire pit has to be from the house.
The answer is 10 feet, there is nothing to misinterpret in this law. A fire pit has to be at least 10 feet away from a house.
Now let’s move to the next big and important law.
Do You Need a Permit for Open Fires in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin only requires a special permit for big open fires. So you don’t need one to own and use a fire pit.
Other things that you have to take into consideration, besides the laws of the state, are the community laws. Some communities might have certain restrictions that others don’t.
In most cases this means that people that live in a neighborhood filled with houses might be able to have an open fire, while people that live in the middle of a city filled with apartment buildings can’t have an open fire on their balcony.
The best way to check this out is to call your local fire stations and ask them if you need any special permit for a fire pit. In general most areas filled with houses don’t need an extra permit, but it’s always a good idea to check.
Now that we know under what conditions you can own a fire pit, let’s take a look at what you can burn.
What You Can Burn In Wisconsin
In Wisconsin you are allowed to burn:
- Brush
- Pine needles
- Grass
- Clean wood
- Cane Grass
- Driftwood
- Forestry Debris (but not from commercial or industrial land clearing)
- Agricultural materials including fruit tree and bush prunings, raspberry stalks
In Wisconsin you are not allowed to burn:
- Leaves
- Brush, trees, driftwood from commercial or industrial land clearing
- Tires
- Construction materials or demolition debris
- Household trash
- Plastics
- Shingles
- Foam
- Wire
- Metal
- Electronics
- Vinyl products
- Rubber products
- Oil-based products
- Painted, stained or treated wood
Most fire pits use either wood, or propane so there are no restrictions on those. And things like lava or glass rocks are also considered ok to use.
Fire Pit Cooking Laws In Wisconsin
When it comes to laws fire pits can be a little tricky since they fall in two very distinct categories. All states have two sets of laws when it comes to open fires. One of them is for cooking, so it includes grills and smokers, the other one is for open fires, so it includes things like bonfires.
Fire pits are usually used for recreational and decorative purposes, not for cooking. But sometimes they can also be used for cooking, like when you are making marshmallows, or when you decide to place a grill over the fire pit.
In all states you are allowed to have an open fire for cooking, those fires are usually not as regulated as other open fires. So in general the only rules that they have subjected to are:
- Kept at a reasonable size
- Locate away from combustible materials
- Contain in a non-flammable enclosure
While other open fires are subjected to a lot of other rules. My suggestion is to follow all the rules even if you are using your fire pit for cooking. There are two reasons why I recommend you this.
The first one is that you are probably following most of them already, if you look at all the laws I mentioned so far you have probably realized that all of them are quite simple, and there is nothing absurd there. And just by simply taking normal precautions you are already following them all.
The second reason is that all of those rules are there for your safety. So there is no good reason not to follow them.
General Fire Pit Safety Tips
Here are some general Fire pit safety tips that will definitely come in handy:
- An adult should always be present and attend the fire until it is completely extinguished.
- Keep children and pets a safe distance away.
- If the fire gets out of control, call the fire local department right away.
- Put the fire out if winds pick up or the weather changes.
- Keep fire extinguishing materials handy. Some good options are a fire extinguisher, or a garden hose. And test the water source before lighting the fire.
- Keep any flammable and explosive materials away from the fire.
- Be careful of the wind power and direction.
- Keep a safe distance from the fire pit.
- Don’t add too much wood to the fire at once, it can fall from the pit.
- Don’t leave the fire pit unsupervised.
- When you are done extinguish the fire.
Final Thoughts
So, those are the Wisconsin laws regarding fire pits. Laws can sometimes be very unclear and hard to understand, so I did my best to simplify them, without losing their meaning.
One final thing that I want to mention is that state laws don’t always completely cover all possible cases, so if you find yourself in a situation in which you don’t know what to do or how to proceed, my advice is to call your local fire station and ask them. Fire stations usually have a very good grasp of the law, and can answer all of your questions.
Down below you will find a link with the resources that I’ve used to create this article, if you want to take a look at the laws yourself.
*This article has been updated in March 2021
Resources
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
*Note that I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. The materials available on this website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice.