Firewood Distance from Single-Family Home?

9/25/2024

How far should firewood be stored from a single-family home within city limits?

Is there an operable mandate for this within the fire code?

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13 Comments

Pete H

9/25/2024 06:52:44 am

From IFC (2021 Edition)

315 General Storage
315.4 Outside Storage

Outside Storage of combustible materials shall not be located within 10 feet of a lot line.
Exceptions:
1. The separation distance is allowed to be reduced to 3 feet (914 mm) for storage not exceeding 6 feet in height.
2. The separation distance is allowed to be reduced where the fire code official determines that hazard to the adjoining property does not exist.

--

So minimum 10 feet of a lot line by code. That said, just for common sense reasons:

Stack dry and above ground to avoid termites.

Give yourself a 30 foot minimum to avoid termites.

Don't stack higher than 20 feet... to avoid termites.

Anthony

9/25/2024 07:59:48 am

I'd add section 305.1(see below) keep the wood away from your gas meter, any incoming electrical lines and any chimney flue cleanouts.

305.1 Clearance from ignition sources.

Clearance between ignition sources, such as luminaires, heaters, flame-producing devices and combustible materials, shall be maintained in an approved manner.

Termites are definitely a greater structural risk than a fire hazard created by stacked wood. Never stack wood against a house you'll get every type of pest in there, mold, mice, ants, spiders and as Pete said termites. I'd be more worried about a gas grill near vinal siding than where the camp wood is piled.

Amy Flieg

9/25/2024 01:38:34 pm

IFC does not apply to 1 and 2 family dwellings, section 102.13

Jon Nisja

9/25/2024 09:12:32 pm

I do not see a section 102.13 in the 2015, 2018, 2021, or 2024 editions of the IFC. Are you possibly citing a state fire code rule or amendment?

Jesse

9/25/2024 08:24:11 am

I love this question. And the comments above mine are good.

However, I want to comment on this from a wildland urban interface perspective. Maintaining adequate defensible space is of huige importance in the interface. Many moons ago I was involved in numerous Wildland Urban Interface fires that lost thousands of homes. Maintaining adequate clear space separation is vital. Generally, we define that as 1.5 times the height of the structure. So, if you have a 20' high house, 30-ft is the defensible space to maintain free of combustible vegetation and combustible material. Ironically, its generally not the big head fire that leads to structure loss in these events, but the fire brands that float through the air and land in piles of combustible material too close to the building.

Jesse

9/25/2024 08:26:05 am

To add, there are AHJs that have adopted / created a wildland urban interface code that further defines this. As is kind of my hallmark statement here at the Meyer U, always check with your local AHJ!

Dan Wilder

9/25/2024 08:27:08 am

Unless you live within a fire district that has adopted more restrictive requirements and enforce defensible zones around the perimeter of the house, the IFC sections above cover you.

The USDA-FS has some good guidelines, but this is based on a more rural and/or wildland areas.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/features/make-your-home-wildfire-defensible#:~:text=Talk%20to%20your%20local%20fire%20department%20about

Joe

9/25/2024 08:55:22 am

You may want to review the Wildland Interface codes section in NFPA 1 and ICC code on Wildland interface.

Jack G

9/25/2024 09:37:31 am

I m with Jesse, 1.5 times the height of the house, 10 feet from the property line like “ sheds”. I clear all the brush around the wood pile, minimum half the height.

David Williams

9/25/2024 10:17:35 am

I think Pete H needs to move to one of the many areas without termites! Especially since we have a greater need for nice large wood piles to get through the winter. Now if I could get my son-in-law to stack his, instead of leaving it lie.

Pete H

9/25/2024 10:47:13 am

They're a menace, Dave.

Though the mounds/hive structures are cool and the fontanellar acid gun they have on their heads is also neat.

But yeah, definitely don't let the wood lie down on the wet ground. You really want to keep that wood as dry and a few feet up as possible.

To avoid termites.

Jerry Clark

9/25/2024 01:46:15 pm

As stated in a previous post, the IFC does not apply to R-3, 1 and 2 family dwellings. This would be addressed in the AHJ's local ordinance or amended fire code, standard, or policy.

There may be additional considerations if the city itself were within a designated urban-interface zone, or other designated fire hazard zone.

Jon Nisja

9/25/2024 09:37:01 pm

I respectfully disagree with the assertion that the IFC does not apply to one and two-family dwellings. Please refer to the following statement from the 2018 IFC (the 2024 IFC has identical language):
102.5 Application of residential code. Where structures are designed and constructed in accordance with the International Residential Code, the provisions of this code shall apply as follows:
1. Construction and design provisions of this code pertaining to the exterior of the structure shall apply including, but not limited to, premises identification, fire apparatus access and water supplies. Where interior or exterior systems or devices are installed, construction permits required by Section 105.7 shall apply.
2. Administrative, operational and maintenance provisions of this code shall apply.

Outdoor storage of firewood is not a construction or design provision; it is an operational or maintenance provision and Section 102.5, Item 2 makes it applicable.

Perhaps people are citing some state fire code amendment to the IFC or a local ordinance or practice but I don't see where the IFC itself contains that provision. If you know of an IFC section that specifically makes a statement that it doesn't apply to one and two-family dwelling, please let me know.

There are lots of references to "one and two-family dwellings" and "R-3 occupancies" in the IFC. NOTE: I was on the original IFC scoping and drafting committees in the late 1990s when the IFC was developed.

Firewood Distance from Single-Family Home?

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