Bakersfield, CA Fire Regulations: Propane Storage (2026)

Municipal Code § 15.65.230 amends California Fire Code Section 6104.2, the geographic-limits provision written "for the protection of heavily populated or congested areas," to read: "areas of the City of Bakersfield which represent residential and commercial designations according to the City of Bakersfield planning department zoning map will be limited in the storage of liquefied petroleum gases." This sits within a broader set of geographic-limit amendments adopted together at § 15.65.195 through § 15.65.230, which apply the same residential/commercial zoning-map trigger to flammable cryogenic fluids (§ 15.65.200), Class I and II liquids stored above ground outside buildings (§ 15.65.210, capped at 2,000 gallons tank capacity for dispensing), and Class I/II liquids in above-ground tanks generally (§ 15.65.220, same 2,000-gallon dispensing cap).

Separately, § 15.07.040 amends California Mechanical Code Section 303.7 to control where LPG-burning appliances themselves can sit: "Equipment burning liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or liquid fuel shall not be located in a pit, attic, an underfloor space, below grade or similar location where vapors or fuel might unsafely collect unless an approved method for the safe collection, removal and containment or disposal of the vapors or fuel is approved." The Fire Code itself is enforced under a jurisdictional-sharing arrangement: § 15.65.030 assigns enforcement to "the fire agency with jurisdictional responsibility for the area as defined in the current memorandum of understanding between the City of Bakersfield and the County of Kern," under the supervision of that agency's fire chief.

Operational permits for hazardous materials and compressed gases above code-listed thresholds are separately required under § 15.65.080 (CFC Section 105.5.22 and 105.5.8), reinforcing that LPG storage and handling above the geographic and quantity limits triggers both a permit and a location restriction.