Manitou Springs, CO Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Section 308.1.4, adopted as a local amendment to the International Fire Code under section 15.12.020, sets the base rule: no charcoal, solid-fuel, or other open-flame cooking device on a combustible balcony or within ten feet of combustible construction. Three exceptions carve out the situations where that ban does not apply: one- and two-family dwellings, buildings, balconies, or decks protected by an automatic sprinkler system, and LPG cooking devices whose tank holds no more than forty-seven pounds of water capacity, roughly a standard twenty-pound propane cylinder.

A companion section, 308.1.4.1, requires every propane valve to be turned off whenever the cylinder is not actively in use, regardless of where the grill sits, and 308.1.4.2 separately bars storing or using any open-flame device in or near stairwells, corridors, or other egress paths. Section 308.2 requires a separate operational permit under section 105.5 for open-flame activity tied to assembly or educational occupancies, torch work removing paint from a structure, operations in wildfire risk areas, or flame effects performed before an audience, none of which cover an ordinary backyard or balcony grill. The Fire Chief, Fire Marshal, or a designee enforces these rules under section 15.12.010.