Fire-code proposal has many people fuming

Paul Larsen doesn’t feel that his little gas Hibachi is a threat to anyone, except maybe his cholesterol level.

“It’s the American way to grill a great steak once in a while,” he said.

So Larsen was taken aback last month when the manager of his Spokane apartment, citing a new fire code, told residents that on July 1 they’ll be banned from barbecuing on their balconies.

“It’s not reasonable,” he said. “Barbecue grilling is an American tradition and right.”

Larsen isn’t the only one smoldering over a proposed new “2003 International Fire Code,” which a state board will consider adopting, delaying or amending during a meeting Friday in Spokane.

State Sen. Joyce Mulliken, R-Ephrata, is unhappy with the international code’s restrictions on cut, real Christmas trees. It would ban such trees in churches, dormitories, hotels, restaurants, schools or stores, unless those buildings have approved sprinkler systems. Cut trees would also be banned from nursing homes, hospitals and day-care centers, even if they have sprinklers.

“To forbid cut trees in places of worship?” said Mulliken. “This is going a little too far.”

On Friday, the state Building Code Council will consider amending portions of the new fire code. The council, which reviews and modifies building codes, fell into the spotlight last week, when the new barbecue rules were first reported.

Council managing director Tim Nogler said the council on Friday will consider softening the rules for Christmas trees, by allowing them in churches and schools, regardless of whether there are sprinklers.

“That was a big concern east of the Mississippi,” he said. “They get a lot of trees shipped, and by the time they get there, they’re dry.”

But here in the Evergreen State, Christmas trees tend to be a lot fresher, Nogler said, and thus less of a fire hazard.

The barbecue rules aren’t on the agenda, but they’ll likely be discussed, Nogler said. The 2003 International Fire Code bans charcoal grills on wooden apartment balconies or within 10 feet of a building, unless there is a sprinkler overhead. As for gas grills, the only barbecues allowed on wooden balconies – regardless of sprinklers – would be small, camping-style grills with 2 1/2-pound tanks.

If the state approves the ban on balcony grilling, Larsen predicts that barbecue fans will simply move inside, and hope the smoke drifts out a window.

“If you don’t think people can be stupid in this world, you’re seriously misinformed,” he said. “I don’t see people getting rid of their $200 or $300 grills.”

The International Fire Code is written by the Virginia-based International Code Council, an association that focuses on building- and fire safety.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” said council spokesman Steve Daggers. “When you tell someone they can’t do something, they say you’re invading their privacy. But when their house burns down, they say, ‘Where were you, and why weren’t you protecting me?’ ”

In America in 1999, he said, there were 1,500 structure fires and 4,200 outdoor fires caused by barbecues. The damage was about $30 million, he said.

A barbecue placed on an apartment balcony was to blame for a fire that damaged the Cedar Creek Village apartments on North Nevada Street just a few weeks ago, said Battalion Chief Dan Brown of the Spokane Fire Department. The barbecue started a deck on fire. No one was injured.

In 1996, a malfunctioning gas grill at a Post Falls apartment building, at 3015 Lilac Court, caused a fire that destroyed the attic and roof. No one was injured.

The 2000 version of the International Fire Code banned cut Christmas trees in all apartments. But officials in New York protested, saying the regulation ran counter to traditional values and was unenforceable, given the number of apartments in New York. The code now allows apartment-dwellers to have their trees.

Daggers said it’s not unusual for local officials to amend the international building or fire codes, as Washington is thinking of doing. Florida toughened building standards because of hurricanes. On the West Coast, the rules are different due to earthquakes. And in the Midwest, roofs must be stronger to deal with the weight of snow.

Building and fire codes are critical to protect the public, he said.

“Every thing about safety I can think of, somebody had a complaint against,” he said. “At one point, we didn’t have seat belts in cars.”