Panel Overturns City Ban On Unvented Gas Stoves

The Spokane Construction Review Board has overturned a city ban on unvented gas stoves, opening the way for Ziggy’s and other fireplace stores to sell the devices throughout Spokane County.

Ziggy’s, a Spokane hardware chain, last year complained when city officials prohibited the installation of unvented gas logs and fireplaces in homes and apartments. The devices, which cost from $359 to $1,200 each, were allowed in the rest of the county.

“The city created a big scare and cost us some sales,” said Ziggy’s President Reid Ziegler. “Truth of the matter, they were violating the law.”

Ziegler said 4 million unvented gas stoves have been sold nationwide. The devices are designed to produce a decorative flame that supplements heat from a furnace or wood stove.

The city based its ban on a warning from the state Department of Health Office of Toxic Substances that children and those with respiratory disease could be harmed by emissions from the devices.

However, the six-person board concluded there was no evidence that unvented gas stoves were a health hazard. The board last month also ruled the city erred by not obtaining prior approval for the ban on unvented stoves from the State Building Code Council, which had permitted the devices throughout the state.

The appeal was brought by Spokane attorney Stephen Eugster on behalf of Temco Fireplace Products Inc., a Southern California manufacturer of unvented gas stoves.

Officials in the city’s planning and engineering department could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

, DataTimes