Fire Pit Safety

Backyard fire pits, as well as outdoor fire places, wood burning ovens or Chimeneas, must meet Canmore's Fire Bylaw & Regulations for your safety and enjoyment, as well as your neighbours.

Always check if a Fire Ban is in effect before starting a fire.

  Call 403.678.4244 during business hours to report a complaint about a backyard fire pit to Bylaw Services.

  Call 9-1-1 to report an illegal or hazardous fire. 

Rules for fire pits

Backyard fire pits must be built into the ground, on brick or stone, or in a fire-proof container. Portable fire pits may be used on a deck but they must sit on non-combustible material such as brick or stone, and not directly on your wooden deck. All fire pits need to be made from non-combustible material.

Fire pits must be at least two metres away from any building or combustible material such as your fence.

Fire pits must NOT be under any trees, branches, plants or other materials that can catch fire.

All fires in your fire pit must be kept to a reasonable size; 1 metre high and wide. A mesh screen or ‘spark guard’ should be used to reduce the spread of embers and sparks from wood-burning fire pits. The openings in the mesh screen should not be greater than 1.24 cm across.

All fires must be fully supervised at all times by at least one person 14 yeas of age or older. 

Only burn clean, dry firewood. Do NOT burn:

• Wood that is painted, treated or contains glue or resin
• Wood from a different location, region or province
• Wet or green/fresh cut wood
• Yard waste (cut grass or leaves)
• Garbage
• Rubber or plastic
• Furniture

Always have a nearby way to put out the fire. Easy options are your watering hose or a bucket of water. Placing a metal grill/screen on top of the fire pit reduces the flame's size and helps prevent sparks and embers from escaping and igniting nearby materials. Remember that high wind speeds may pose a fire hazard. 

You can be fined, up to $2,000, for not following Canmore's bylaws.

Fire pit hours

Fire pits may only be used between 10 a.m. and 1 a.m.

Consider your neighbours

Smoke from fire pits can cause adverse health effects in some people. Be aware of neighbours that may be negatively impacted to exposure of smoke from outdoor fire pits and follow the bylaws related to smoke.

Before using your fire pit, familiarize yourself with optimal wind conditions and take precautions to prevent smoke from disturbing your neighbors.

Low wind speeds won’t easily disperse smoke and can contribute to poor air quality.

Be aware of the amount noise you are making and respect your neighbours.