Where there's smoke, there's fire

New codes are turning many barbecuers into criminals

An international fire code being adopted across America bans grilling on many apartment decks and balconies.

It’s almost the Fourth of July, so it’s time once again for the Great Barbecue Debate:

Ribs or pork?

Vinegar-based or tomato-based? Or mustard-based?

Wet or dry?

Legal or illegal?

An issue simmers
Seattle is a big outdoor grilling town. Long summer daylight hours stretching till 10 at night and cool temperatures lure legions of guys in aprons outside with beer, beef and briquettes. And the Fourth of July is the busiest grilling day of the year, according to at least 15 consecutive surveys by Weber-Stephen Products Co.

But as this Independence Day approached, Stan Price found himself being raked over the coals. He was getting grilled. You could say the fat really hit the fire.

Stan Price is chairman of the Washington State Building Code Council, which was all set to begin applying a new state fire code. Except someone noticed a provision that would, beginning July 1, prohibit the use of liquefied petroleum gas burners and other open-flame cooking devices on combustible balconies or within 10 feet of combustible construction except in one- and two-family dwellings or in buildings where the balcony and deck are protected with fire sprinklers.

Translation: No more grilling on most apartment and condominium balconies and decks.

Three days before the Fourth of July. Cue the fireworks.