One page says ten feet. The next says twenty-five. A third says "at least fifteen". They cannot all be right, and the reason they disagree is more useful than any of the numbers.
This article does not give you a number. By the end of it you will know exactly who has the number that applies to you and how to get it, which is the only version of this answer that is safe to act on.
Why the numbers differ: four authorities, stacked
Fire-pit clearance is not set by one body. It is set by a stack, and each level can be stricter than the one above it.
1. Model codes and standards. The National Fire Protection Association publishes the standards that most US fire codes are built from. NFPA does not write your local rule directly; states and municipalities adopt versions of the model codes, sometimes with amendments, sometimes several editions behind.
2. Your state or province. Adopts a code edition, sometimes with statewide amendments, and may add rules about open burning during dry conditions.
3. Your county, municipality or fire district. This is usually where the number that binds you actually lives, and it is where the variation comes from. Local rules can be dramatically different between two towns that share a border, because they reflect local density, prevailing wind, water supply and history.
4. Your HOA, condo board or landlord. Can be stricter than every level above and frequently is. This is also the level people find out about last, generally in a letter.
And running alongside all four: the manufacturer's manual, which states the clearance the appliance was designed and listed for. This one is specific to your product rather than your location, and it is the document least likely to be wrong about your particular fire pit.
The binding rule is the strictest one that applies to you. That is why the internet disagrees. Each page is describing one town, one code edition, or one manufacturer, and presenting it as the rule.
Why so few of the pages you find are authoritative
Search this question and the results are overwhelmingly published by companies that sell fire pits, heat mats and outdoor furniture. That is not a conspiracy; it is who has a reason to publish. But it means the number you read is chosen by a seller writing for a national audience, which is the one situation where a specific figure cannot be correct.
Fire departments, who do have the number, mostly publish it on municipal sites that are not built to rank. So the results that answer confidently are the ones least likely to know your jurisdiction, and the ones that know are the hardest to find.
Getting your own number in an afternoon
Step 1: read your manual. Find the clearance-to-combustibles specification for your model. If you have not bought yet, this is downloadable from the manufacturer before you buy, and it is worth doing while you can still choose a different pit.
Step 2: call your local fire department's non-emergency line. Not 911. The non-emergency or fire-prevention number. This is a normal question that they answer routinely, and it takes one call. Ask three things: the required clearance from structures, whether open burning is permitted at all and under what conditions, and whether the answer differs for gas versus wood.
Step 3: search your municipality's own site for "open burning", "recreational fire" or "outdoor fire" plus your city or county name. The ordinance is usually published and searchable, and the terminology matters: many codes distinguish a small "recreational fire" from "open burning" and apply different rules.
Step 4: check the HOA or lease before you site anything. Get it in writing.
Step 5: write the numbers down with the date and where each came from. Rules change, seasonal burn bans come and go, and in a year you will not remember which figure came from where.
What the clearance is measured to, which is the part people get wrong
Whatever number you end up with, it applies to more than the wall of the house.
Overhead is the one people miss. Eaves, soffits, low branches, awnings, pergola beams, a balcony above, and any covered structure. Vertical clearance is a separate requirement from horizontal clearance, and a pit that satisfies the distance from the wall can still sit directly under something.
The surface underneath counts. A deck, whether wood or composite, is a combustible surface and is treated differently from stone, gravel or bare soil.
Fences, sheds and vehicles count. So do the neighbor's, and a fence on a property line frequently is the closest combustible thing to a fire pit.
Fuel storage counts. Where the propane tank sits, and where the woodpile sits, are both part of the siting question.
Wind, which no number accounts for
Every clearance figure assumes something about conditions. A dry, windy evening is the situation in which a compliant fire pit still throws an ember somewhere it should not be.
The rules that exist for this are behavioral rather than dimensional: do not burn in high wind, keep a means of extinguishing within reach, use a spark screen on a wood fire, and never leave a fire unattended. Those apply on top of the distance, not instead of it.
Many jurisdictions add a seasonal burn ban during dry spells. That is a rule that can change between the day you buy and the day you use it, and it is the reason the phone number from step 2 is worth keeping.
If you cannot make the clearance
This is a real outcome on small lots, and it deserves a straight answer rather than a workaround.
If the only place a wood pit fits is closer than your rule allows, the honest options are a different fuel with a smaller clearance requirement, a permanently installed appliance sited by someone who knows the code, or not having one. Splitting the difference is not one of the options, and neither is a mat, a screen or a shield that no code names.
That is an unsatisfying end to a shopping trip, and it is a better one than a letter from the fire marshal or a claim your insurer declines.
Where this article stops
We do not publish a clearance number, a state-by-state table, or a rule of thumb, because the correct answer for your yard comes from your manual and your local fire authority, and a national figure invented for a web page is exactly the thing that has made this question so confusing.
If a page gives you a confident number without asking where you live, it does not know.
Frequently asked questions
How far should a fire pit be from the house? There is no single correct number to print for a national audience. The binding rule is the strictest one that applies to you, out of your state, your county or municipality or fire district, and your HOA, read alongside your appliance's manual. Your manual and your local fire authority hold the figure that is safe to act on.
Who do I call to find the rule where I live? Your fire department's non-emergency or fire-prevention line, not 911. It is a routine question for them. Ask the required clearance from structures, whether open burning is permitted and under what conditions, and whether the answer differs for gas versus wood.
Is the clearance only measured to the house wall? No. Overhead clearance is a separate requirement from horizontal clearance, and eaves, branches, awnings and pergola beams all count. So do the surface underneath, fences, sheds and vehicles, including the neighbor's, and where the propane tank or the woodpile sits.
What if my yard cannot meet the clearance? The honest options are a different fuel with a smaller clearance requirement, a permanently installed appliance sited by someone who knows the code, or not having one. Splitting the difference is not an option, and neither is a mat, a screen or a shield that no code names.
Do these rules change over time? Yes. Seasonal burn bans come and go with dry conditions, and codes get updated. Write down what you were told, with the date and the source, and keep the fire department's non-emergency number so you can check again before burning during a dry spell.
Yard Insight has not run a fire pit on its own property, and this article makes no claim otherwise. No clearance figure, code section, or jurisdiction-specific rule is stated anywhere above, deliberately. NFPA is named here as the publisher of the model standards that US fire codes are commonly built from; we do not quote a specific edition, because which edition your jurisdiction has adopted is part of what you are checking.
