Pender County, NC Fire Regulations: Propane Storage (2026)

Code § 16-8, in the county's Fire Prevention and Protection Code, treats any tank for volatile flammable or combustible liquids or hazardous material, which covers residential LP-gas and propane tanks, as a permitted installation. The written application to the director of inspections must set out the tank's location, character, size and capacity, its intended use, and the location of any pump relative to the tank and the property line, and the applicant must agree to follow the fire code and all existing county ordinances. The superintendent of building inspections decides whether the proposed tank complies with the fire code, county ordinances and state law before issuing the permit, and keeps the right to inspect the tank and its appliances both before and after installation.

Critically, once the tank is set in the excavation and its fittings and connections are attached, the installer must stop and notify the superintendent before backfilling or otherwise covering the connections, so inspectors can verify the work before it disappears underground. Enforcement runs through the fire marshal's office under § 16-3, and fees for these inspections are set by resolution of the board of commissioners under § 16-9 and kept on file with the clerk to the board and the fire marshal's office.