Grand Forks, ND Fire Regulations: Propane Storage (2026)

City Code Section 12-0201(4) amends Section 105.5.29 of the International Fire Code so that storing or using LP-gas in excess of 125 gallons aggregate water capacity requires a permit from the Grand Forks Fire Department's fire code official, the same official who administers the whole fire code under Section 12-0102. The amendment carves out a specific exception for houses: no permit is required for an individual LP-gas container holding 500 gallons or less, or for multiple container systems with a combined capacity up to 500 gallons, when serving a Group R-3 occupancy, which covers detached one- and two-family homes.

The permit requirement also separately reaches operating cargo tankers that transport LP-gas and dispensing LP-gas, both added as their own permitted activities under the amendment. Independent of the fire code permit, Section 19-0516 of the building code bars turning on any LP-gas installation until the city's mechanical inspector has inspected and approved the connected gas-burning appliances, including temporary heating appliances. Because the fire code amendment sits inside the same article that Section 12-0202 penalizes, a homeowner or business that stores LP-gas above the residential exception without the fire department permit, or that skips the mechanical inspector's sign-off before turning the system on, is exposed to the article's standard fine in addition to any order to remove or shut down the noncompliant tank.