Whatcom County, WA Fire Regulations: Propane Storage (2026)

WCC § 20.80.220(1)(a)(i) is the county's dimensional rule for residential propane storage. A propane tank with a fuel capacity of up to 500 gallons may be placed in the front-yard building setback, but its location is restricted to the rear 50 percent of that setback area, not the half closer to the road. Every such tank must be inspected and approved by the Whatcom County fire marshal for compliance with the currently adopted International Fire Code, and when the fire marshal requires it, the tank must be isolated from other uses by a noncombustible wall or fence. The code also encourages, though does not mandate, screening the tank with a fence or with shrub vegetation planted to at least six inches above the tank's top surface.

Separately, WCC § 15.04.010(F) sets the technical installation standard for all liquefied petroleum gas systems in the county: the 2021 Edition of NFPA 58 (Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code) and the 2021 Edition of ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54 (National Fuel Gas Code), both adopted by reference through Chapter 51-52 WAC and as further amended by WCC § 15.04.050. Those standards, not the county code itself, set the tank-to-building and tank-to-property-line clearance tables, relief-valve and vaporization requirements, and container-size thresholds that determine whether a system needs a fire permit. Whatcom County Planning and Development Services building services division, acting as the local building official, administers both the fire code amendments and the LP-gas standards.