---
title: Merritt fireworks rules
question: "Are fireworks allowed?"
place: Merritt, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/merritt
category: Bylaws, noise and complaints
owner: municipal
owner_body: City of Merritt
sources_read: 2026-11-05
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/merritt/fireworks/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/merritt/fireworks.json"
---

# Merritt fireworks rules

**Question:** Are fireworks allowed?

**Short answer:** In the City of Merritt, consumer fireworks may be sold or used only from October 16 to November 1 each year, unless the Fire Chief gives written authorization. They cannot be sold to anyone under 18.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (City of Merritt, https://www.merritt.ca)  
**Cost:** No fee for Fire Chief authorization was found. No bylaw notice amount is listed; court fine up to $2,000.  
**How long:** October 16 to November 1 each year.  
**Where:**
- Phone: Merritt Fire Rescue Department, 250-378-5626 (1799 Nicola Avenue)
- Phone: City Hall, 250-378-4224

## Key facts

- **Setting off fireworks:** Fireworks may be sold or used only from October 16 to November 1 each year. At other times only with the written authorization of the Fire Chief. No set-off hours are given.
  - Source: [Fire and Safety Regulations Bylaw 2272, 2019, s. 9.3](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2272_fire_safety_regulations_0.pdf)
  - Official wording: "No Fireworks may be offered for sale or used except between the dates of October 16 and November 1st in each year. The sale or use of fireworks outside these days may be permitted with the written authorization of the Fire Chief."
  - Source: [Small Confined Fire Permits, Fire Permits Required](https://www.merritt.ca/small-confined-fire-permits/)
  - Official wording: "fireworks are only permitted between October 16 and November 1"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Selling fireworks:** Only category F.1 consumer fireworks may be sold, and only from October 16 to November 1 each year unless the Fire Chief authorizes it in writing. Never to anyone under 18.
  - Source: [Fire and Safety Regulations Bylaw 2272, 2019, s. 9.2, 9.4](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2272_fire_safety_regulations_0.pdf)
  - Official wording: "Only Fireworks within category F.1 of the Explosives Regulations may be offered for sale within the City of Merritt." … "Under no circumstances may Fireworks be directly or indirectly sold, given, or furnished to a person under the age of eighteen (18) years."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **What counts as fireworks:** "Fireworks" means consumer fireworks within category F.1 of the Explosives Act. The bylaw does not name sparklers or firecrackers.
  - Source: [Fire and Safety Regulations Bylaw 2272, 2019, s. 2 definitions](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2272_fire_safety_regulations_0.pdf)
  - Official wording: ""Fireworks" means consumer fireworks within category F.1 of the Explosives Act."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Permit:** Written authorization from the Fire Chief is needed to sell or use fireworks outside October 16 to November 1.
  - Source: [Fire and Safety Regulations Bylaw 2272, 2019, s. 9.3](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2272_fire_safety_regulations_0.pdf)
  - Official wording: "The sale or use of fireworks outside these days may be permitted with the written authorization of the Fire Chief."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Fine:** Up to $2,000 on summary conviction, and each day is a separate offence. No bylaw notice amount is listed for this bylaw.
  - Source: [Fire and Safety Regulations Bylaw 2272, 2019, s. 20.2-20.3](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2272_fire_safety_regulations_0.pdf)
  - Official wording: "Any person who commits an offence under this Bylaw is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2000)."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** City of Merritt Fire and Safety Regulations Bylaw No. 2272, 2019 (s. 9).
  - Source: [Fire and Safety Regulations Bylaw 2272, 2019, s. 1.1](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2272_fire_safety_regulations_0.pdf)
  - Official wording: "This Bylaw shall be cited as the “Fire and Safety Regulations Bylaw No. 2272, 2019”."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

Section 9 of the [Fire and Safety Regulations Bylaw 2272](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2272_fire_safety_regulations_0.pdf) covers fireworks in the City of Merritt. "Fireworks" means consumer fireworks in category F.1 of the Explosives Act. The bylaw does not name sparklers or firecrackers. Fireworks may be sold or used only from October 16 to November 1 each year. At other times you need written authorization from the Fire Chief. The City's fire permit page says the same dates.

## Good to know

- Only category F.1 consumer fireworks may be sold. They may never be sold to anyone under 18.
- Storage, transport and manufacture must follow the Explosives Act.
- The bylaw gives no hours of use, and no application form or fee for the Fire Chief's authorization was found. Ask Merritt Fire Rescue at 250-378-5626.
- Sky lanterns and tiki torches are banned at all times.
- The City's Document Library lists a Permission to Sell Low Hazard Fireworks form for sellers.
- No bylaw notice (ticket) amount is listed for this bylaw, so only court fines apply: up to $2,000 on summary conviction, and each day is a separate offence. A sky lantern or tiki torch offence carries a fine of not less than $500.

## Official forms and pages

- [Fire and Safety Regulations Bylaw 2272 (PDF)](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2272_fire_safety_regulations_0.pdf)
- [Permission to Sell Low Hazard Fireworks (application, PDF)](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Sell-Low-Hazard-Fireworks-Application.pdf)

## Related questions

- [Merritt backyard fire and burning rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/merritt/backyard-fire.md)
- [Merritt noise bylaw: quiet hours, construction hours and fines](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/merritt/noise-rules.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Fireworks rules in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/fireworks.md)
- [Logan Lake](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/logan-lake/fireworks.md)
- [Kamloops](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/kamloops/fireworks.md)
- [Ashcroft](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/ashcroft/fireworks.md)
- [Peachland](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/peachland/fireworks.md)
- [West Kelowna](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/west-kelowna/fireworks.md)
- [Hope](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/hope/fireworks.md)

## Sources

- [Small Confined Fire Permits, City of Merritt](https://www.merritt.ca/small-confined-fire-permits/) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Fire and Safety Regulations Bylaw 2272, 2019 (PDF), City of Merritt](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2272_fire_safety_regulations_0.pdf) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Document Library, City of Merritt](https://www.merritt.ca/document-library/) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Contact, City of Merritt](https://www.merritt.ca/contact/) (read 2026-11-05)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 6 facts was matched to the official text. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with City of Merritt. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/merritt/fireworks/_