Everett, WA Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Outdoor burning
- Unlawful citywide except six listed exceptions, EMC 16.03.030
- Grills exempt
- If used per manufacturer instructions and IFC § 308.1.4
- LP-gas fire pits
- Barred within 10 ft of multifamily combustibles, balconies, decks
- Sprinkler exception
- Sprinklered multifamily buildings exempt from the 10-ft rule
- Enforcement
- Everett Fire Marshal's Office, EMC Chapter 1.20
- Civil penalty
- Up to $250 per day, EMC 1.16.010
- Criminal penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $5,000 and one year in jail
Summary
Everett's fire code makes all outdoor burning within city limits unlawful, but carves out real exceptions for cooking and recreational fire features. Barbecue grills, pits and smokers are allowed if run per the manufacturer's instructions and Section 308.1.4 of the fire code, while LP-gas fire pits and fireplaces face a strict 10-foot combustible clearance on multifamily balconies.
307.1 General. It shall be unlawful and a public nuisance for any person to kindle or maintain or authorize to be kindled or maintained any outdoor burning within the City of Everett. Exceptions:
1. Residential and commercial outdoor cooking using barbecue grills, barbecue pits, barbecue smokers, and other similar food cooking devices operated in its intended purpose as per manufacturer's recommendations and complying with Section 308.1.4 and any other provisions found within the Everett Fire Code. ...
3. LP-gas or natural gas recreational fireplaces, fire-bowls, fire-tables, fire-pits, or similar devices operated in its intended purpose as per manufacturer's recommendations, and previsions found within the Everett Fire Code. Exception: The use of a LP-gas recreational devices is not permitted to be used on balconies, decks, or within 10 feet of combustible construction of a multi-family building unless provided with an automatic fire sprinkler system.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 4194-26, passed July 29, 2026).
Full Breakdown
030 rewrites IFC Section 307 as 'Outdoor Burning' and opens with a blanket rule: kindling or maintaining any outdoor fire within the city is unlawful and a public nuisance. Six numbered exceptions carve out what residents and businesses may actually do. 4, the state-adopted open-flame cooking device standard, and any other applicable Everett Fire Code provision. Exception 3 covers a different category, LP-gas or natural gas recreational fireplaces, fire-bowls, fire-tables and fire-pits, and it carries its own condition: those devices are not permitted to be used on balconies, decks, or within 10 feet of combustible construction of a multi-family building unless the building has an automatic fire sprinkler system.
Other exceptions reach permitted hot food vendors (Exception 2), general recreational fires kept to a 3-foot diameter and 2-foot height and set back 15 to 25 feet from structures (Exception 4), religious or ceremonial bonfires under a Fire Permit (Exception 5), and warmth or cooking fires the fire official allows at their discretion when no other means is available (Exception 6). 2 if it creates a hazard, is deemed offensive because of smoke or odor, or burns prohibited materials such as treated wood, plastics or construction debris. 3, may order any noncompliant fire extinguished; the fire department can put it out directly if the responsible person refuses or is unable to.
Violations & Fines
A fire kept in violation of Section 307.1 is a public nuisance the fire code official can order extinguished on the spot, with the fire department authorized to act if the responsible party will not. Fire code violations are prosecuted as civil infractions under EMC Chapter 1.20; the citywide general penalty schedule in EMC 1.16.010 allows a civil fine up to $250 per day of violation or, where charged criminally, a misdemeanor punishable by up to $5,000 and one year in jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a propane or charcoal grill in my Everett backyard?
Can I put a propane fire pit on my apartment balcony?
What happens if I burn prohibited material outdoors?
Do I need a permit for a backyard bonfire?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Everett
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