Propane Grills on Balconies & Fire Codes

Our concrete & steel high-rise was inspected by the new fire marshall yesterday. Our PM emailed us directors to say that he'll enforce a law that says no propane BBQ grills are permitted on our balconies/patios/decks if they're closer than 10 feet to walls. The PM says that this new marshall in town is going to ban such grills in the numerous highrises in our urban setting. The FM reportedly said that the previous FM was "too lenient."

I poked around online a bit in CA and only see where that rule applies when such grills are 10' from a "combustible" surface. I cannot find it specific to my city.

Anyone know about such laws in CA or even elsewhere?

I learned many years ago that not all fire marshalls are created equal.

Circa 1970 I worked for an architect in Phoenix who was supervising completion of the then-new county hospital. The city fire marshall mandated that the doors on the first floor were to open inwards so that in the event of a fire everyone would go down a flight of stairs at the center of the building, descend into the basement and exit a tunnel into the parking lot some distance from the building. The contractor installed all the doors to meet the fire marshall's decree, even though it was counter-intuitive to have people on the ground floor of a burning building head toward the center instead of out the nearest door.

Before the building was completed, a new fire marshall was appointed and he about died when he saw the plans for the hospital. He immediately ordered all the first floor doors to be reversed so that they once again permitted exiting the building quickly as a normal person would.

Thanks, Laura. I believe that our concrete and steel structure is non-combustible. Our HOA never has permitted charcoal grills. I found a little more online for my city, but it says I need to go to the library to read the codes!

Thanks to you, too, Larry. I sure have heard that fire marshals can have widely divergent opinions, and that some don't make sense. I actually think there'll be quite an uproar in our urban area if the FM truly bans these--many of our 220+ units have them, but we only have two community grills that could each handle two servings at a time. I think most of the other high-rises are set up the same way. In our FM's territory, I'm guessing there are maybe 30 high-rises! Enforcement?

I'd still love to hear from anyone else about this topic.

It is not just because the area may be concrete and steel and less likely to catch fire. There are other related accidents besides fire from grills on balconies. What if someone using it burns themselves and in their panic knock over something? Then factor in kids and pets around grills and it's not that pretty. So don't just assume it's about "fire". Considering there could be a gas leak or explosion risks involved, I don't blame the fire marshal restrictions.

I just wanted to say that even before I bought my townhouse, I rented a lot of places and nowhere with an overhang were we ever allowed to have a grill (and this was way before this 2003 revision to the international fire code). We have patios at our place, and while I see the fire marshals point on it (and I am really against allowing people to store propane on their decks), I just wish they'd be more consistent with enforcement. All of the other communities turn a blind eye to it and seem to get less community inspections, so we look like the bad guys. At the condo I rented we had wooden decks and vinyl siding, and every single homeowner had a charcoal or gas grill and nothing was ever said to anyone, nor was anyone fined. At my current house, I have an electric grill, and it's OK, but it's not the same. When it dies, I plan to get a portable charcoal grill and use it in the grass like a lot of my neighbors do.

Which is a thought for the OP... Could your neighbors get portable charcoal grills and use them in the common areas like the common grills, which you say are too small for the demand? That might be a solution, although it doesn't solve the issue that some folks probably have really nice gas grills on their decks that they'll have to remove.

to repeat:

'google' BLEVE ~ boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion

see; http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=S3PgwSGWvkw

about 2 minutes in a 1# propane goes bleve, imagine a 20# on a balcony

of course they are 'rare'

so are high-rise fires

combine a 'rare' hi-rise fire with a 'rare' propane tank and you get ?????????

from: http://www.propane101.com/propanecylinderexplosions.htm



? would a fire place the cylinder in a 'source of extreme heat' ?

DOH

oops ..... shot myself in the foot when i drawed too quick

sorry to offend

why are rational adults even DISCUSSING flammable gas cylinders out on balconies of multi-family buidings which require working smoke detectors for safety ?

propane tanks and habitable space(s) do NOT BELONG TOGETHER

PERIOD

just in case:

1) propane stored on balcony

2) serious fire in building

3) tank gets hot and ruptures

either:

3a) fire fed by escaping (vented) propane

or

3b) tank explodes in a BLEVE

EITHER WAY the tank is the cause of additional death or property destruction

ps. would you store gasoline on the balcony ? why not, it would be safer than propane !